BRISTOL, Tenn. — The sixth seeded King University women's basketball team narrowly saw their season come to an end Monday night, falling to seventh seeded Francis Marion University 87-84 in the second round of the Conference Carolinas tournament.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Francis Marion 87, King 84
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: Francis Marion 16-12, King 13-13
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- The teams traded threes early, with King holding a 5-3 lead off a Ryleigh Fritz fast break layup with 8:18 to play.
- The Patriots then went on a 14-2 run to take a 17-7 lead with five minutes left.
- The Tornado fought their way back, scoring 10 straight points to cut the Francis Marion lead to 20-19.
- The Patriots were leading 22-19 when Desiree Bates drew a foul while shooting from beyond the arc, earning three free throws, which she made to tie the game at 22.
- Francis Marion hit back-to-back buckets in the final minute to take a 26-22 lead at the end of the quarter.
Second Period
- The second quarter started much like the first quarter ended, with the teams exchanging buckets. The Patriots eventually pulled out to a 30-25 lead with 6:35 to play.
- Madison Worley hit a short jump shot to cut the lead to 30-27, but a Francis Marion three on the other end gave them a six-point advantage with six minutes left.
- King got back to within 39-35 with 1:42 to play after back-to-back buckets from Trinity Lee and Brianna Dunbar, but the Patriots would end the quarter on a 7-4 run to take a 46-39 lead into the locker room.
Third Period
- Coming out of the locker room, Caroline Harville hit a jumper from outside the paint to get King to within 46-41.
- After a Francis Marion basket on the other end, Bates hit a jumper from outside the paint, making it a five-point Patriots lead.
- Francis Marion would hit a bucket a short time later, draw a foul and convert the free throw to take a 51-43 lead with 7:42 remaining.
- The Patriots would quickly stretch their lead to 56-45 with five minutes to play.
- Francis Marion extended their lead to as much as 15 with 1:48 to play, but King was able to narrow it to a 64-55 advantage at the end of the quarter after Dunbar hit a pair of free throws and Jada Campbell and Lee hit buckets.
Fourth Period
- King started the fourth quarter on fire, scoring the first six points, forcing Francis Marion to take a timeout with 9:43 to play.
- Coming out of the timeout, Harville hit a quick field goal to get King to within 64-61.
- The lead narrowed even further when Potts hit a second-chance three with 8:51 to play, putting King within one point of Francis Marion.
- The Tornado tied the game at multiple points in the fourth quarter, including with 1:56 to play when Dunbar grabbed a defensive rebound and took it all the way, hitting a layup to even things at 82.
- Francis Marion hit a three with 1:31 to play, which set up a frantic final minute that saw Dunbar hit two free throws to get King to within one point, but a pullup jumper with 51 seconds to play put the game out of reach.
- The Tornado had three shots in the final 15 seconds, but were unable to convert any of them, with one final shot as the clock expired that rolled off the rim.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dunbar finished with 20 points, making her one of four Tornado to score in double figures. Lee had 16 points, while Fritz finished with 11 and Alexa Gramann had 10.
- Gramann also led the Tornado in rebounding, pulling six on the night while going 4-for-4 from the line.
- Dunbar also was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
- Fritz dished out five assists to lead all players.
FOR THE FOES
- Scarlett Gilmore scored 28 points, leading a Patriots offense that had all five starters score in double figures. Lauryn Taylor had 19, while Kiana Lee had 15 and Jasmine Stanley and Aniya Oliver both scored 10.
- Lee led the Patriots with eight rebounds, while Stanley pulled seven and Taylor and Oliver had six each. Lee also had a team-high four assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
UP NEXT
- Francis Marion advances to the quarterfinals of the Conference Carolinas tournament, where they will face no. 3 Belmont Abbey Friday night at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.
