HARROGATE, Tenn. – Interim head coach
Michael Phelps picked up his first career win Saturday, as the King University women's basketball team closed out the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas challenge with a impressive 71-49 win over Lincoln Memorial.
Ashley Allen recorded her first career double-double, while
Trinity Lee dropped 18 points to lead all scorers.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King University 71, Lincoln Memorial 49
LOCATION: Tex Turner Arena; Harrogate, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 1-1, Lincoln Memorial 1-1
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- After Lincoln Memorial opened up an early 6-2 lead, the Tornado came storming back, with buckets coming from Brianna Dunbar and Allen to tie the game.
- King took the lead just before the media timeout, when Alexa Gramann hit a layup and drew the foul, converting the ensuing free throw to give King a 14-12 lead.
- After LMU re-tied the game, King started to pull away when Jhayda McKinney drilled a three before Dunbar nailed a three with six seconds left to give King a 22-17 lead.
Second Period
- The Tornado started the second quarter right where they left off, as Kiki Samsel drilled a three to extend the lead to eight.
- The Railsplitters got to within four points, but slowly the Tornado were able to open up what would be a 15point lead thanks to a pair of free throws from Madison Worley.
- Dunbar added a three just before the half to give King a 43-27 lead heading into the locker room.
Third Period
- The Tornado continued their hot streak in the third quarter, expanding their lead to 22 points behind a three from Lee, a steal from Dunbar who fed Allen for a layup and a three from Kiki Samsel that had LMU reeling.
- King and LMU would then exchange buckets, with the Tornado maintaining a significant lead throughout the majority of the period.
- After the Railsplitters got to within 17 off a King turnover, Lee hit a deep three with 53 seconds left in the quarter, giving King a 55-35 lead. They had a chance to score again before the end of the period, but a pullup jumper fell short with 15 seconds to go.
Fourth Period
- After exchanging buckets at the start of the quarter, King went on another run, with back-to-back threes from Dunbar and Lee that expanded the lead to 65-39.
- After a 1:32 stretch of nobody scoring, Allen hit a second-chance layup to make it 67-44 King.
- The game slowed down in the closing minutes, with the Tornado adding one final bucket with 53 seconds left when Allen grabbed a rebound and hit the layup.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Allen picked up her first career double-double, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds in just her second game as a Tornado.
- Lee led the Tornado in scoring for the second straight game, dropping 18 points. This is the ninth straight game that she has scored in double digits, dating back to last season.
- This was just the fourth all-time win for the Tornado over LMU, but the second consecutive. Prior to this, King hadn't won in Harrogate since December 17, 2014.
FOR THE FOES
- Irelynn Davisson had 15 points to lead the Railsplitters, along with four rebounds.
- Lauren Flowers added 10 points and four rebounds, as well as four assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
UP NEXT
- King is on the road next weekend, when they travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to face Converse at 2 p.m.
- LMU is at home Wednesday as they open SAC play against Anderson.
