BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University women's basketball team had their home opener as they hosted Conference Carolinas opponent, the University of Mount Olive. King led for just over nine minutes the entire game, but they pulled out the come from behind 67-63 win.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 67 – Mount Olive 63
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 2-4, 1-0 Conference Carolinas | Mount Olive 1-4, 0-2 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
- Mariya Williams scored the first points of the game on a fastbreak layup from a turnover.
- Williams made a free throw later to give the Tornado a 7-6 lead headed into the first media timeout.
- Mount Olive would get a shot in the paint to take the lead with just under three minutes to go in the opening quarter. While King would tie the game multiple times in the second quarter, they didn't regain the lead until three minutes into the fourth quarter.
- Sarah Thompson would go 4-4 in the first quarter from the free throw line to lead the Tornado scoring.
Second Quarter
- Alexa Gramann scored the first points of the period with a layup off a turnover at the 8:07 mark.
- Jaelyn West led the scoring hitting 3-4 from the field, including one beyond the arc for 7 points in the quarter.
- The Trojans would score one final layup right before the half to go to the locker room with a six-point lead.
Third Quarter
- As a team, the Tornado focused their offensive effort inside the paint, scoring 8 points in close range while the other eight came from free throws.
- Thompson and West each had a layup and two free throws in the period. West also added a steal while Alayna Smith had four rebounds to help the defensive efforts.
Fourth Quarter
- Down eight entering the final quarter of play, the Tornado wasted no time retaking their lead. West started the 10-0 scoring run with a three pointer at 9:40.
- Thompson had a tip-in layup before Le'Aije Ellington hit another three-pointer for the home team to tie the game at 48 before a pair of Williams free throws gave King the lead.
- Mount Olive would get their last lead of the game at the 5:31 mark before Thompson hit her own three-pointer. The Tornado got as high as six with a Williams second chance layup. Willaims would secure the four-point lead with a pair of free throws with two seconds left in the game.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Jaelyn West led the scoring with 18 points off the bench. She also had five rebounds and two assists.
- Sarah Thompson and Mariya Williams both had double-double games. Thompson had 16 point and 10 rebounds while Williams had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Thompson also drew 9 fouls, causing her to shoot 13 free throws, sinking 7 of them. Williams drew 7 fouls, going 6-8 at the charity stripe.
- As a team King hit 25 free throws and scored 23 points off Mount Olive turnovers.
FOR THE FOES
- Alexis Durham had a game-high 22 points. Janna Tupuola scored 12 for the Trojans.
- Keri Cooper had a team-high 7 rebounds and two blocks.
UP NEXT
The Tornado will be off for Thanksgiving before hosting Lees-McRae on Wednesday, December 4 at 5:30 PM.
