TIGERVILLE, S.C. –
Trinity Lee scored a career-high 24 points on Tuesday night as the King University women's basketball team picked up their third consecutive win, 72-60 over North Greenville. Lee also had four rebounds while playing 34 minutes.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 72, North Greenville 60
LOCATION: Hays Gymnasium; Tigerville, S.C.
RECORDS: King 3-1, 2-0 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville 0-5, 0-2 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- The Tornado started the game hot, scoring the first five points of the game and holding the Crusaders off the board until the 7:32 to play mark.
- After NGU tied the game at five, Lee and Jhayda McKinney hit back-to-back threes to give King a six-point lead.
- The Crusaders again got to within one point, but King ended the period on a 7-0 run behind a three from Brianna Dunbar and a layup by Alexa Gramann in the closing seconds.
Second Period
- King started the second quarter right where they left off in the first, scoring the first six points, including a jumper from Madison Worley and a layup from Gramann along with a pair of free throws from Dunbar.
- King opened up a 14-point lead around the halfway mark of the quarter, thanks to a layup by Desiree Bates that came immediately after a Samantha Fugate shot was blocked. Lee then lined up a three a short time later.
- The Crusaders ended the half on a 11-2 run to get to within seven points entering the halftime break.
Third Period
- North Greenville controlled the early stages of the third quarter, eventually taking a 47-46 lead with 2:47 left.
- The Tornado would awaken however and end the quarter on a 10-3 run, with Lee scoring six points and Ryleigh Fritz adding four during the stretch.
- The run started when Fritz hit a pair of free throws to give King the lead back. Lee then hit a pair of free throws, followed by a steal and layup to make it 52-47.
- Fritz hit a short jumper with 53 seconds remaining before Lee drilled a pair of free throws to end the quarter.
Fourth Period
- Lee started the final quarter by draining a three to extend the lead to nine points.
- King continued to pull away, scoring six unanswered points in a nearly two-and-a-half-minute stretch to take a 65-52 lead with 5 minutes to go.
- The Tornado went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final minute, with Lee and Kiki Samsel both knocking down shots from the stripe.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The 24 points is a new career high for Lee, eclipsing her previous career high of 22 set in January against Bluefield state. She has scored in double digits in every game this season, and is averaging 19 points per game.
- Gramann also set a new career high, scoring nine points while being one of three Tornado to pull five rebounds. Gramann went 3-6 from the field and knocked down three free throws.
FOR THE FOES
- Haylee Luttrell scored 17 points to lead the Crusaders, going a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line.
- The loss drops North Greenville to 0-5 on the season. This is the first time they have started a season 0-5 since the 2017-18 season, when they lost eight straight to start the season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This was the sixth consecutive win for King over the Crusaders, and their 20th overall in the series. The last North Greenville win came on Feb. 16, 2019.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will continue their season-opening road trip on Nov. 30 when they take on Lees-McRae.
- North Greenville will also be in action that night, hosting Southern Wesleyan.
