Elizabeth City, NC - The Salem International University women's basketball team made the trip to Elizabeth City, North Carolina on Friday afternoon (Dec. 30) to close-out the 2016 portion of their schedule. The Tigers would get a 20-point performance from sophomore Jiahna Flood-Francis en route to a 47-36 victory against Elizabeth City State University in NCAA Division II women's basketball action.

The Tigers (2-13) used a stout defensive effort in the second quarter, out-scoring the Vikings 13-0 after the teams played to an 11-11 tie after the opening 10 minutes of play. SIU returns home to the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium to host Ferris State University on Monday, January 2 at 2 p.m. 

In the opening quarter of play, it would be the Vikings who would jump out to an 8-2 lead before the Tigers got a three-pointer from sophomore Keishla Gilmore to cut the deficit to 8-5. Flood-Francis brought SIU to within one point (11-10) with 1:47 left in the quarter. Senior Franchessca Gill would knot the game at 11 after hitting the first of two free throws with eight seconds left to play.

SIU would take its biggest lead of the first-half (24-11) with 2:44 left in the second quarter as Flood-Francis drained a shot from three-point range. The Vikings had a pair of opportunities with less than a minute to play in the quarter but would miss both shots. ECSU went 0-of-10 from the floor in the second quarter, while SIU went 6-of-10 from the floor.

Poised to work their way back into the contest, the Vikings out-scored SIU 17-9 in the third quarter and cut the Tigers lead to 33-28. SIU locked things down defensively in the fourth quarter and weathered a barrage of three-point attempts from ECSU. The Vikings went 1-of-11 from downtown in the second-half, while the Tigers were 2-of-7. Jazmine Nixon paced the ECSU offense in the second-half, scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Flood-Francis went 8-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range, while recording two assists and two steals. Gilmore finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds. Junior Safiya Hernandez tallied five points for SIU, while junior Christy Gonzalez pulled-down seven boards. 

Nixon recorded a double-double for the Vikings with 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds. D'asya Wilson finished with six points for ECSU on 3-of-9 shooting and five rebounds.

SIU shot 50 percent (18-of-36) from the floor, 5-of-17 from three-point range, and 6-of-12 from the charity stripe in the contest. Elizabeth City shot 27.6 percent (16-of-58) from the floor, 2-of-19 from three-point range, and 2-of-7 from the free throw line. The Vikings held a 33-32 advantage in rebounds. The Tigers recorded six steals and 21 turnovers, while the Vikings tallied seven steals and 17 turnovers.