COLUMBIA—Despite a competitive first quarter and late game push, CIU women's basketball fell to Brenau University (Ga.) 69-56 on Monday evening.
CIU lept out to a 7-2 lead after Bethany Rymer drained a triple in the early portion of the first period. The Rams would relinquish the advantage but only trailed by one (15-14) after a Jerchel Geathers-Washington score in the final moments of the quarter. However, a barrage of 3-pointers from the Golden Tigers in the second quarter forced a 33-23 deficit for CIU at halftime.
Brenau grew their lead throughout the second half. The Rams made a late push in the fourth, forcing several Golden Tiger turnovers, cutting the Brenaua advantage down to 58-45 on a Magdalena Mihaljevic layup. Still, CIU's opponent stayed hot from beyond the arc as Ram's comeback efforts stalled late in the final period.
Irene Were was a force in the paint for CIU, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Bethany Rymer scored 17 points on 2-of-3 shooting from deep, while Mihaljevic posted 11 points on the evening.
The Golden Tigers hit 14 3-pointers on a staggering 41 attempts.
Up Next: The Rams look to even the season series with Columbia College (S.C.) as they travel to the Koalas campus on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. ET.
