BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- Last night the Trojans took the court in Van Dixhorn Arena for the first time this season to tip off against rival CCAC opponent, Trinity Christian College. Unfortunately, the debut didn't transpire as hoped and TIU dropped the contest 48-72 to the Trolls.

From the tip, TIU fell behind by six before Breleigh Gula dropped a pair of layups to get the ball rolling for the Trojans. With five minutes to go in the first quarter, the court became quiet as neither team scored for a span of three minutes. Junior transfer Jakyah Amous broke the spell with a jump shot to close the score gap, 10-15 with TIU trailing. The Trolls would drop a few more buckets before the stanza's end with Trinity International providing just one further response, a layup from sophomore Da'Naria Washington. 

Starting the second quarter down 23-14, the Trojans entered what would be their weakest quarter as they sank just nine points after offensive powerhouse Washington was handed a technical foul early in the frame. Trinity Christian pressed on and dropped an additional 19 points to nearly double their score.

The Trojans struggled to catch a break as the Trolls came out of the intermission with back to back three-pointers followed by dual layups. Washington stepped up and broke up the hefty run with a jump shot less than thirty seconds later. Halfway through the quarter, freshman Twanasia Graves added to the board with a layup after Audree Peck blocked a shot on the opposite end of the court and secured the rebound to transition into attack. Grabbing another rebound, Peck regained possession for the Trojans and pushed forward. An initial missed Trojan three-pointer was secured by sophomore Saskia Stegbauer and handed off to Ashley Geisler who sank the second chance from outside the arc to bring the score to 30-57. Late in the period, the Trojans caught a bit of momentum with back to back layups from Stegbauer in the paint.

Collecting 14 points and 12 rebounds, the Trojans continued to fight in the final quarter and gave their strongest performance of the day. Washington dropped six points while recovering five rebounds and senior Amber Reynolds put up an additional four points. Midway through the quarter, Graves started a six point run for the Trojans, disrupted by a Trolls three-pointer. A quick steal by Washington followed by an unassisted layup created another run of six points for the Trojans to close out the game with determination.

The Trojans(1-3) are on the road this weekend for their next CCAC match-up against the Fighting Saints of the University of St. Francis. Tip-off is set for 1:00pm on Saturday afternoon.
   

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TIU Trojans     TIU Women's Basketball

 

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Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness, and lifelong learning.