FERRUM, Virginia -- Ferrum College dropped a non-conference women's basketball game to Averett University tonight at home, falling 67-54 at Swartz Gym.

RECORDS
Averett (6-3)
Ferrum (0-9)

THE BASICS
The Panthers struggled through a rough patch to open the game, going scoreless in the first quarter with an 0-11 misfire clip from the floor and trailing 18-0 at the end of the quarter.

Jessy Nichols opened the second quarter with a layup to break the scoring drought. Averett went on a 10-0 run, including seven points by Kiara Smith, to extend the lead to 28-2. Ferrum closed out the first half with a 10-2 run that included a Cameron Hawkins layup and two free throws.

Kayla Cabiness came alive after halftime, scoring seven on her game-high 21 points, as the Panthers outscored Averett 14-13 the third quarter. Cabiness' three-pointer at 8:08 of the fourth quarter got Ferrum as close as 10 points, 43-33.

Arin Bunker sank a pair of free throws with 3:54 left to trim the lead to 54-43, but that's as close as Ferrum could get and the two teams played pretty even down the stretch.

KEY STATS
Averett: Ravyn Johnson 13 pts, 13 reb, 2 blocks; Brooke Carthon 13 pts, 11 reb, 2 blocks
Ferrum: Cabiness 21 pts, 3 3FG; Nichols 9 pts Bunker 7 pts

NEXT GAME
Coach Bryan Harvey's team will break for the Christmas holiday and then be back in action Monday, December 30, looking to secure its first win with a home game against Meredith College. The non-conference game tips off at 7:00 p.m. in Swartz Gym.