Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. – After a big win on the road over Barton College, the King University women's basketball team took the court against Pfeiffer University in another key Conference Carolinas matchup. A strong start and first half for that matter, helped power the Tornado past the Falcons behind four scorers in double figures, 67-63.
King got on the board first when Chelsea Bowling did what she does best, drain a three point basket. The Tornado continued the hot shooting to open the game and quickly jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Pfeiffer got on the board. Whitney Mitchell would hit back-to-back shots to give King a 12 point advantage at 19-7. The Tornado lead would grow to 13 when Amy Van Deventer scored her first points off the game on a jumper, assisted by Jalan Harper. Harper would give King a 16 point lead after she nailed a three with just over 3 minutes remaining in the first half.
Pfeiffer would bring the Tornado lead back to 11 but Tia Keitt added two free throws going into the half to give King a 33-20 lead at the break. As a team, King shot 31.4 percent and held Pfeiffer to 22.6 percent. The Tornado dominated the boards posting 31 to Pfeiffer's 19.
To open the second half, Pfeiffer got on the board when Carter Williams hit her first basket of the game. Williams would go on to hit the next two baskets for the Falcons bringing the Tornado lead to only six points. Bonnie Durrett would hit from downtown strengthening the King lead to nine with 17 minutes remaining in regulation. Williams would hit again from three-point range with 14:21 left on the clock to bring the Falcons within three. Back-to-back triples from Bowling and Durrett, followed by a Harper jumper brought the King lead back to nine.
At the under 10 media timeout, King held on to a 54-49 lead. Keitt gave King a nine point advantage once again with about seven in a half minutes remaining in regulation. The Falcons would keep it around that scoring margin and brought it down to within six, with fewer than three minutes left in the half. With 22 seconds left, Williams hit from three again for the Falcons but it would not be enough as the clock eventually ran out and King defeated Pfeiffer 67-63.
The Tornado was led by four in double figures. Leading the way was Bowling with 15 points, shortly followed by Durrett with 13. Mitchell registered 11 points while Van Deventer added 10. Four King players posted eight rebounds as well, Durrett, Keitt, Van Deventer and Harper. King shot 38.1 percent from the field and a strong second half helped Pfeiffer shoot 41.7 percent. The Tornado out-rebounded the Falcons 45-37 and added 13 assists to Pfeiffer's five.
King will be back in action next on Saturday, January 31 when they will host Converse College in a Conference Carolinas contest. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm.
