[WOMEN’S BASKETBALL] SKYHAWKS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO SEVEN AT CIU

Women’s Basketball | Tue, Jan. 12, 2021 at 8:15 PM

Columbia, S.C. (Jan. 12, 2021) – Junior Nicole Izuagie scored a game-high of 16 points to lead the Point University women’s basketball team to a 68-51 victory over Appalachian Athletic Conference member Columbia International University Tuesday afternoon on the road.

With Tuesday’s win, the Skyhawks extend their win streak out to seven games and improve to 8-2 (7-2 AAC). Point is only one game out of first place in the AAC standings as Bryan is in the lead, followed by Union, who is a half-game back. 

Game flow

Point never trailed the entire night as the Skyhawks were able to earn a quick lead over the Rams off a made layup by Nikole Mobley in the opening seconds of the game. A two-pointer by Aissa Stevenson followed by a triple from Izuagie put the Skyhawks ahead by nine with under three minutes left in the quarter. The Skyhawks held CIU to only six points in the first quarter as Point closed out the opening frame ahead 15-6. 

The Rams opened the period with their first 3-pointer of the night, but the duo of Stevenson and Iyanna McMillan answered CIU’s triple with a two-pointer by Stevenson, followed by a 3-pointer by McMillan to give Point their largest lead of the night. The Skyhawks held on to a double-digit lead for the rest of the half and went into the break ahead 30-20.  

Going into the second half, CIU was able to bring the score back within eight points in the opening minutes. That was the smallest the margin would get as the Skyhawks were able to extend the lead back out to double figures for the remainder of the period.

The Rams outscored the Skyhawks by three points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as the Skyhawks were able to hold on to a double-figure lead for the remainder of the game. 

Game leaders

Izuagie’s 16 points came off 6-for-18 shooting from the field and 3-for-11 in perimeter shooting. Mobley followed with 13 points and added on five assists and two steals. Mobley went on to shoot a season-high of 6-for-14 from the field. Stevenson followed with 12 points and seven rebounds and Kimberley Forbes led from under the basket with eight rebounds. 

“So proud of how hard our players competed,” Head Coach Tory Wooley said. “This was a great team win and I thought we had great production from everyone, especially Nikole Mobley. Mobley did an outstanding job putting pressure on the defense in the open floor. Our bench was great and Ace (Aisse) and Kim are doing an outstanding job anchoring our interior defense. We have to continue to clean up some areas but we’re going to keep doing our job defensively and making everything difficult for our opponents.”

Up next

Point will travel to Grayson, Kentucky, on Saturday, Jan. 16, for their second AAC matchup against Kentucky Christian University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.