Thomas University Athletics

THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The Thomas University Night Hawks' women's basketball team ran in front with the game's first dozen points on Saturday afternoon inside Smith-Bonvillian Gymnasium, but the visiting College of Coastal Georgia Mariners stormed back to pull off a 63-55 road victory.

Kyla Raven opened the scoring with a shot from deep for TU out of the gate; the first three of a career-high 17-point performance for the senior forward. Jada Rawls knocked down another triple before Keiane' Rollins had a breakaway layup on a steal. Rollins and Trista Bennett both knocked down a pair of free throws to swell the lead befoe CCGA rallied back to the tune of a one-point, 19-18 lead for Thomas entering the second quarter.

The Night Hawks' shooting went cold before the half, only connecting on three field goals in the second quarter - two of them from Raven. The forward added two more from the charity stripe to keep Thomas in it, down by six at the intermission.

While TU didn't see many shots from the field fall in the third quarter, the women found ways to get back to the line; sinking eight shots from the stripe in the ten-minute period. CCGA was quiet for the first few minutes out of the break, allowing Thomas to claw back to just a three-point deficit. Down 36-33 after another Rollins free throw with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter, TU would fall behind to begin the fourth quarter down by ten. 

Thomas roared back with an 18-point fourth quarter, bringing it back to a two-possession game with time winding down. After a CCGA shot from beyond the arc silenced the energetic crowd, a Bennett three-pointer answered and made it a 57-53 ballgame with 62 seconds remaining. The foul game down the stretch ultimately didn't matter as the Mariners held on to the eight-point win away from Brunswick. 

Thomas was led by Raven with a 17-point, six-rebound performance; flanked by Rollins' 14-and-5 day. A quartet of Night Hawks each had five points on the day, as Thomas wound up shooting 43% from the floor, 40% from deep and 84% from the free-throw line. 

Ameari Logan led the defensive effort with four of the Night Hawks' ten steals, while Makayla Crews had the lone block for Thomas.

The Night Hawks (1-5) open SSAC action against the Lady Barons of Brewton-Parker Christian University inside Smith-Bonvillian Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov, 12, seeking their third-straight win over BPCU.

Stay connected with Thomas University Athletics all season long! Follow @tunighthawks on Instagram, X and like the Thomas University Athletics Facebook page.

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