BARBOURVILLE, Ky. -- CIU women's basketball tipped off against Union College (Ky.) for their last away game of the 2022-2023 regular season on Saturday. When the Rams hosted the Bulldogs earlier in the season, they won by 19 points. Today's game mirrored the first as CIU took down Union 62-41. CIU is now 14-13 on the season and 13-10 in conference play. Today's win marks the most conference wins in a single season in program history.
The Rams took opened the game on a layup from
Tearra Cook and then continued onto a 15-0 run until Union finally put points on the board at the 3:14 minute mark. CIU's defense held the Bulldogs to only four points in the first period, leading 23-4 going into the second. Offensive production was limited was from both teams in the second quarter as Union outscored CIU 9-8; however, the 19-point lead from the first gave CIU an 18-point advantage (31-13) going into the half.
The Rams held onto their first-half advantage through the final 20 minutes of the game, despite only outscoring Union by three in the second half. The Rams' largest lead came in the third at the 0:55 mark (47-24), and the Bulldogs could only close the gap by a few points in the final ten minutes of the contest. A layup in the last 15 seconds of the game would give CIU the 21-point edge over Union to take home the win.
Hannah Wilkerson remains consistent on offense for the Rams with 16 points, going 8-8 from the line this afternoon.
Jaylyn Twitty picked up her first double-double of the season with 13 points and ten rebounds, as well as a season-high of four steals.
Mariah Leinbach had another double-digit game with ten points, while
Zhani Thompson collected ten rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying: "Great opportunity to bounce back after Thursday. We had one of the most dominant halves we've had all season, holding them to 13 points in the first half. Proud of the girls for stepping up and taking care of business. Proud of our floor general Jaylyn for her first double-double!"
Up Next: CIU returns home on Saturday, Feb 18, at 5:30 PM for their final regular season game against Point University.