BRISTOL, Tenn. – In a contest that was tight throughout, the King University women's basketball team used a solid defensive performance in the third quarter to gain separation from Erskine College. The pulled in the third period to take the 75-64 Conference Carolinas victory.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 75, Erskine 64
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 17-6, 14-3 Conference Carolinas; Erskine 9-12, 8-8 Conference Carolinas

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The score was even at seven in the opening period when Erskine scored eight straight points to open up a 15-7 lead and force Tornado head coach Josh Thompson to call for a timeout.
• Thompson subbed in his second group out of the break and that seemed to spark the King offense.
• Sheena Johnson started a 10-0 burst with a jump shot before Johnson and Demisha Porter drilled back-to-back three-point baskets, evening the tally.
• Johnson then hit a jump shot in the paint, giving the lead back to King at 17-15.
• The teams then traded buckets down the stretch, and the tally was even at 20-20 after the first period.
• The pace slowed down in the second quarter, but King scored five straight points, all by Johnson to take a 29-25 advantage.
• The Tornado again led 31-28 before the Flying Fleet scored the final five points of the quarter, including a buzzer beating triple, taking a 33-31 lead at the break.
• Following the seventh tie of the contest at 36-36, Porter sparked a 7-0 Tornado spurt with her second triple of the contest.
• Amy Van Deventer gave King a 43-36 lead with back-to-back buckets.
• The Tornado lead grew to 48-39 following a Kristen Cupples triple, and Kori West collected an offensive rebound and made a layup as time expired, giving King a 54-44 lead going to the fourth quarter.
• Erskine came back and got within six points, but King answered with six straight points, gaining their largest lead of the game at 66-54.
• The Tornado lead stayed there for the rest of the contest as King took the game 75-64.
• Johnson led King with 18 points, going 7-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three-point range.
• West followed with 14 points and four rebounds.
• Porter and Van Deventer both chipped in with 10 points, and Van Deventer added a team-high nine rebounds.

FOR THE FOES

• Kristin Giles led Erskine with 22 points while Raygon Hendrix followed with 19 points and eight rebounds.
• Myranda Parham chipped in with 11 points and Naomi Stuger grabbed nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

• King returns to the court in the Student Center Complex on Saturday when they host the University of Mount Olive at 2:00 p.m. The Trojans are ahead of King in the Conference Carolinas standings at 14-2 and they play Belmont Abbey College on Wednesday night.
• Erskine hosts Limestone College on Saturday afternoon.