Box Score TIGERVILLE, S.C. – For the second consecutive game, Amy Van Deventer set a season-high in points leading the King University women's basketball team to their sixth straight victory. The freshman scored early and often, racking up 26 points as King poured in a season-best 80 points in their 80-69 win at North Greenville University on Saturday afternoon.
The Crusaders (4-10, 3-5 CC) grabbed the early lead, but each time Van Deventer answered with buckets to even the score. Tia Keitt then followed after the second one with a triple to give Kinga 7-4 lead three minutes in.
North Greenville again held a 20-19 lead with nine minutes left in the first half, but the Tornado (10-4, 5-3 CC) started to get their offense going. Van Deventer converted a pair of free throws before Jalan Harper drilled a three-point basket to extend the King lead. The Tornado then used a 9-0 run to gain separation. Stephanie Brantley and Whitney Mitchell made back-to-back jump shots before Brantley gave King a 38-28 lead with her only three-point basket of the game. Chelsea Bowling followed with a steal and layup, stretching the lead to 12 with two minutes left. The Crusaders scored four of the final six points of the half, but the Tornado still held a 42-32 lead at the break.
King quickly extended their lead to start the second half, scoring seven of the first nine points of the second half. Mitchell and Van Deventer started the spurt with a pair of buckets in the paint, and Keitt put King up 49-34 with a steal and layup three minutes into the half. The Tornado lead grew to as many as 23 points on numerous occasions, the final time at 76-53 with 7:27 left.
At that point, the Crusaders started to come back. Trailing 80-60 with two minutes left, North Greenville scored the final nine points of the contest to make the final score 80-69 in favor of the Tornado.
King shot a season and NCAA Division II-era best 60.0 percent (30-for-50) from the field. The Tornado also shot 41.7 percent from three and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. On the other side, North Greenville shot 43.3 percent from the floor, 26.3 percent from three and 64.3 percent from the free throw line.
Van Deventer led the Tornado with a season-best 26 points after scoring 20 points in Wednesday night's win at Erskine College. The redshirt freshman went 10-for-11 from the field and made all six free throws she attempted while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Bowling followed with 12 points, and Keitt marked the final scorers in double figures with 11 points. Mitchell chipped in with nine points and a team-high five assists.
King will be in action again when they travel to Southern Wesleyan University on Tuesday. Tipoff from Central, S.C., is slated for 5:30 p.m.
