BANNER ELK, N.C. – The King University women's basketball team came away with a well-earned rivalry victory at Lees-McRae College on Tuesday night. The Tornado trailed after the first period, but put together two solid quarters before holding off a late Bobcat rally to take the contest 81-72.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 81, Lees-McRae 72
LOCATION: Williams Gymnasium; Banner Elk, N.C.
RECORDS: King 4-1, 3-0 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 0-4, 0-2 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- The teams traded three-point baskets in the early going before a 7-2 Tornado run gave King a 10-8 lead following a Brianna Dunbar trifecta.
- However, Lees-McRae scored nine straight points to take a 19-12 lead before a Madison Worley basket ended the spurt.
- King then trailed 26-15 before back-to-back triples from Jaden Potts and Ryleigh Fritz pulled the Tornado within 26-21 at the end of the first period.
Second Period
- Lees-McRae scored the first basket of the second quarter before a Dunbar jump shot ignited an 11-0 Tornado run.
- Dunbar connected on another from long range before consecutive baskets from Worley and Madee Denton gave King a 32-28 lead.
- Lees-McRae came back with eight straight points to take a 36-32 lead before the Tornado came back and evened the score at 37 on a Trinity Lee layup.
- Kiki Samsel made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give King a 41-39 lead at halftime.
Third Period
- A Denton triple broke a tie at 44, giving King a lead they would not relinquish.
- The Tornado advantage grew to 53-46 following a 6-0 spurt before taking a 62-51 lead at the end of the quarter.
- King closed the period on a 9-3 run where Dunbar and Lee knocked down three-point baskets and an Alexa Gramann made a jump shot.
Fourth Period
- Symantha Fugate gave King their largest lead of the game at 66-54 with a jump shot two minutes into the final stanza.
- Lees-McRae scored six straight points to pull within 66-62 midway through the quarter, but King responded with baskets from Gramann and Dunbar.
- King then answered each Bobcat basket and held off a late run to take the contest 81-72.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dunbar led King with 19 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from three-point range. She also handed out three assists and grabbed three rebounds.
- Lee followed with 13 points and five rebounds while Gramann posted 12 points.
- Worley scored eight points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
- Samsel led the team with six assists.
FOR THE FOES
- Aurora Roberts led five Lees-McRae scorers in double figures with 16 points.
- Destiny Johnson followed with 12 points and eight rebounds.
- Malikah Meyers grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds while MaKayla Smith scored 10 points and handed out five assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Dunbar's 19 points set a career-high, topping her previous best of 17 set last season.
- Samsel matched a career-high with six assists.
- Gramann posted a career-best 12 points.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado travel to Francis Marion University on Friday night. Tipoff from Florence, S.C. is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
- Lees-McRae travels to UNC Pembroke on Friday evening.
