KINGSPORT, Tenn. - For the third consecutive season CIU women's basketball began their postseason in the first round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Women's Basketball Tournament. The Rams entered as the No. 8 overall seed and faced the No. 9 seed Kentucky Chrisitan University. Despite trailing at halftime, CIU bounced back for a double-digit win over the Knights, 72-62. The Rams have now won at least one game in the AAC Tournament for the third straight year. 

The Rams held the lead for the majority of the first quarter, and a Mariah Leinbach layup put the Rams up 17-13 at the end of one. CIU went cold in the second period; however, going 5-of-17 from the field. The Knights took advantage of the Rams' lackluster offensive production to take a 31-29 lead at the break. 

CIU responded immediately to start the second half going on a 12-3 run capped by a Zhani Thompson layup to pull ahead 41-34. The Rams led by seven after three, but the Knights closed the gap to 61-58 with 4:33 remaining in the ball game. Free throws down the stretch from Jaylyn Twitty and Queeneka Howard helped the Rams close the game out, however, as CIU advances on the 72-62 victory.

Freshman phenom Hannah Wilkerson led the Rams in scoring with 18 points, knocking down 6-of-8 free throws. Leinbach stepped up for CIU, scoring 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting while collecting eight rebounds. Queenek Howard pulled down eight boards of her own to go along with 12 points. The Rams outrebounded the Knights 56-43 as Zhani Thompson chalked up a game-high ten rebounds.

What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying: "Big win! We knew it would be a battle, and we never folded! Proud of our players! It's always a good day to beat KCU! Survive and advance is what it's all about!"

Up Next: The Rams will take on the No. 1 overall seed Bryan College (Tenn.) in the AAC Quarterfinals tomorrow morning at 10:15 AM.