WINONA LAKE, Ind. - CIU women's basketball took on the No. 2 seeded Asbury University (Ky.) Eagles in the opening round of the NCCAA National Championship Tournament on Wednesday. After a second-quarter comeback from CIU to take their first lead (31-30) of the game with 3:33 left in the period the Rams stumbled allowing the Eagles to take full command, as Asbury cruised to a 81-63 win.

Although the Rams scored the game's first bucket, Asbury quickly jumped out to an early advantage. After trailing by as many as 10 points (28-18) in the second quarter, CIU would storm back to take a one-point lead on a transition layup from Madison Hatcher with 3:33 left in the quarter. The Rams managed to keep the game tight going into the halftime break, only down three (38-35). 

The Eagle opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to stretch their lead back to double-digits for most of the quarter. Asbury would continue to extend their lead in the fourth as the Rams ran out of gas in the final minutes. As a result, CIU would drop their opening-round matchup 81-63.

The standout freshmen tandem of Madison Hatcher and Zhani Thompson led the way for the Rams in the opening round, Hatcher finished with 17 points, three assists, and three rebounds. Thompson also added 17 points to go along with five rebounds and two blocks.

Teneea Heston also had a solid outing with 15 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting, with two steals and three assists. 

The Rams were unable to put the ball in the basket at an efficient clip, shooting 26-of-74 (35.1%) on the night and going 6-of-31 (19.4%) from three-point range. CIU made several runs in the game to battle back within striking range but could not sustain momentum, especially in the last two quarters, as they were outscored 43-28 during that span. 

What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying: 
"I thought we competed. Made mistakes at the start of the 3rd quarter and found ourselves fighting from behind the rest of the way. Something that's encouraging is how well freshmen Zhani and Hatcher played. Looking forward, they're great pieces to build on." 

Up Next: 
The Rams will take on No. 3 seed Grace College (Ind.) tomorrow, March 17, at 1:45 PM ET as they continue play in the NCCAA National Championship Tournament consolation bracket.