CLEVELAND, Ga. – CIU women's basketball hit the road for their final game of January to take on Truett McConnell (Ga.) in hopes of keeping their win streak alive. CIU battled in all four quarters and forced the Bears into overtime, where they came out on top 74-71. The Rams are now 11-11 on the season, 10-8 in conference play, and on a three-game win streak.
Tearra Cook got the Rams going with a layup in the first 15 seconds of the contest. The lead passed back and forth between both teams during the first quarter, and CIU trailed 19-18 after the first ten minutes. The lead continued to go back and forth for the first five minutes of the second, but the Rams took control of the game at the 5:09 minute mark thanks to a three-pointer from
Zhani Thompson. CIU held onto this lead and was up by six (38-32) at the half.
The Rams maintained their advantage throughout the third, outscoring TMU 16-13. The Rams were stalwart defensively in the period, collecting three steals, one block, forced four turnovers, and grabbed 15 rebounds. Leading 54-45, the Rams seemed to be in an excellent position to stay in control of the game for the final ten minutes. However, the Bears' offense came alive and outscored CIU 18-9 in the fourth. TMU tied the game at the 4:15 minute mark and then took the lead less than a minute later. CIU regained the advantage with 19 seconds to play on a layup from
Hannah Wilkerson, who then extended the lead to two (63-61) on a free throw the next possession with 16 seconds remaining. However, TMU was able to tie it up 63-63 before time expired in regulation.
The Bears went ahead thirty seconds into overtime and held onto it until the 2:06 minute mark when
Mariah Leinbach tied the game. Thompson gave the Rams the lead less than a minute later on a layup. TMU evened the score once more before a
Queeneka Howard steal and score secured the Rams' lead for good. CIU picked up a defensive stop on the other end and
Jaylyn Twitty iced the game with a free throw to bring the final score to 74-71.
Continuing her successful sophomore season,
Zhani Thompson added a ninth double-double to her repertoire, scoring a season-high of 24 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Thompson broke the CIU single-season record of blocks with three blocks on the night, as she now has 46.
Hannah Wilkerson dropped 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while
Mariah Leinbach added 11 points.
Tearra Cook and
Queeneka Howard put up seven points each. As a team, CIU grabbed 49 rebounds and collected seven steals.
What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying:
"Fantastic play on the road! Back-and-forth play, but our girls kept fighting. Big play at the end from
Queeneka Howard, who got the steal and winning layup! Zhani was great for us and set a new season high for blocks this game. Winning on the road has been difficult, but we're discovering what we're made of… toughness and grit!"
Up Next:
CIU returns home to take on Bryan College (Tenn.) on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 5:30 PM.
