MONTREAT, N.C. — CIU women's basketball took a trip north on Saturday to tip off against Montreat College (N.C.). The Rams have only beaten the Cavaliers once in program history, and there were chances for CIU to come out victorious this afternoon, but a couple of bad bounces for the Rams allowed Montreat to come out on top. CIU ultimately fell 65-58 and is now 8-11 on the season and 7-8 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play.
CIU seemingly gained control of the game from the tip. The Rams took the lead at the 8:28 minute mark and held onto to it to finish the first period up 17-14. However, Montreat bounced back in the second and led by six (34-28) at the half. The Rams were only able to muster 11 points in the second quarter shooting 22% from the field.
CIU trailed in the third until the 6:02 minute mark, when they were able to tie it up at 39-39 . The lead would continue to go back and forth between teams until the Cavaliers went up by three with less than 30 seconds in the third. The Rams continued to battle into the fourth and would even up the score twice, but they weren't able to seize control of the game. Despite a big three from Zhani Thompson down the stretch Montreat grabbed the advantage with less than a minute in the contest and held onto it for a seven-point victory.
Zhani Thompson scored a season-high of 22 points while knocking down a career-high of six three-pointers. Thompson was impressive defensively with a season-high of six blocks against the Cavaliers tying the program record for the second most blocks in a single game.
Tearra Cook was a key piece for the Rams with seven points and 13 rebounds,
Madison Hatcher scored nine points, and
Queeneka Howard was strong on the glass collecting six rebounds.
As a team, CIU shot 33% from the field with an impressive third-quarter going 56%. from the field. CIU was outrebounded by one as they grabbed 44 rebounds compared to 45 for the Cavaliers. The Rams forced 16 turnovers, stealing the ball nine times
What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying: "We played a tough game, one of the best battles we've had this year! Thompson is coming into her own and she played extremely well today! Came down to a couple of possessions that didn't go our way. We're still learning, still growing, and preparing to play our best basketball this half of the season!"
Up Next: CIU continues their series of road games as they take a trip to Laurinburg, N.C., to tip off against St. Andrews University on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 PM.
