Box Score BLUEFIELD, WV - Four players recorded double digit games for Salem International University, including a game-high 22 points from sophomore Jiahna Flood-Francis on Sunday night (Feb. 26). The Tigers were able to hold-off a second-half surge from the Blues to secure a 71-61 win in their 2016-17 season finale.

Flood-Francis finished the game 8-of-15 from the field, 3-of-6 from downtown, and added a game-high seven steals for SIU. Senior Franchessca Gill tallied a career-high 14 points for the Tigers, going 6-of-8 at the free-throw line. Gill pulled-down a team-high eight boards for the Tigers and narrowly missed recording a double-double. Sophomore Keishla Gilmore added 17 points and a game-high six assists for SIU, while junior Christy Gonzalez tallied 10 points.

SIU would open the contest by shooting 57.1 percent from the floor in the first quarter, going 8-for-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown. The Blues looked to keep pace with the Tigers by taking a total of 10 shots from downtown. Bluefield went 2-of-10 from downtown and would find itself trailing 20-10 after the opening 10-minutes.

Both teams struggled with the three-ball in the second quarter as SIU went 1-of-8 and Bluefield 1-of-10. The Blues found it tough again to get shots to fall, hitting only 2-of-14 shots from the field. SIU would have a little more success in the quarter, going 5-of-17 from the floor. The Tigers out-scored Bluefield 13-5 in the quarter to take a 33-15 advantage into the break.

Flood-Francis paced the troops for SIU in the first-half, scoring a game-high 11 points with three treys. The Tigers had a strong showing on the glass in the opening 20-minutes, out-rebounding Bluefield 27-16. Gill tallied seven of the 27 boards for SIU and looked to have a strong start towards a double-double performance.

The Blues looked like a completely different team to start the third quarter as they scored more points (23) in the 10-minutes of action then in the first-half (15). Bluefueld went 8-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-8 from downtown to claw its way back into the contest. SIU wouldn't be that far off of the mark from Bluefield, shooting 46.7 percent from the field and scoring 19 points in the quarter.

Lyndsay Hatfield and Maggie Tien guided the Blues' comeback attempt in the second-half. Hatfield scored all-14 of her points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Tien caught fire from downtown, draining four treys.

The fourth quarter had an identical feeling to it with Bluefield again out-scoring SIU 23-19. Bluefield shot 17-of-33 in the second-half and went 5-of-14 from downtown after a sluggish first-half. The Blues also gained the advantage on the glass in the second-half, guided by Tanasia Blake's 10 boards.

Gill added 10 of her 14 points in the second-half and was efficient with her shots. She went 2-for-3 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Senior Karla Hall recorded a team-high six rebounds in the half for SIU and played a total of 29-minutes in her final game as a Tiger.

Blake finished 8-of-15 from the field for Bluefield, recording a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Blake filled up the stat sheet with four assists, one block, and six steals. Hatfield tallied eight rebounds and three assists to go along with her 14 points. Bria Gates scored nine points off of the bench for the Blues.

SIU finished the game 26-of-62 from the field, 7-of-25 from downtown, and 12-of-21 at the free-throw line, while Cedarville went 23-of-62 from the field, 8-of-34 from downtown, and 7-of-11 at the free-throw line. The Tigers out-rebounded Bluefield 44-39 and recorded 19 points off of turnovers. SIU tallied 15 steals as a team while Bluefield recorded nine. Thanks to the performance from Tien, the Blues out-scored the Tigers 25-1 off of the bench.