TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The King University women's basketball team traveled to the Palmetto State tonight to face the Crusaders of North Greenville University. The Tornado scored 30 points in the final period of play to overcome a 23-point deficit and pick up their fifth victory of the season.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 65, North Greenville 62
LOCATION: Hayes Gymnasium; Tigerville, S.C.
RECORDS: King 5-5, 4-5 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville 5-4, 5-4 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- North Greenville opened the game on a 15-5 run to gain a quick, double-digit lead.
- Kiki Samsel nailed back-to-back triples in the final moments of the first quarter to cut the deficit to 15-11.
Second Period
- The Tornado struggled at the start of the second quarter, scoring their first points of the period with 5:02 remaining in the half.
- The Crusaders went on a lengthy 19-6 run to establish their largest lead of the half at 34-17.
- A Julie Ford jumper with 1:47 remaining in the half was King's last basket of the quarter as the Tornado went into the locker room down 35-19 at the half.
Third Period
- The two teams traded 5-0 runs to start the second half before the Crusaders jumped out to their largest lead of the night 50-27.
- Ryleigh Fritz drilled a shot from downtown with five seconds remaining in the third quarter to cut the lead to 52-35 as the Tornado finished the period on an 8-2 run.
Fourth Period
- Ford hit two shots in a row to open the fourth quarter which sparked a 10-1 Tornado run that trimmed King's deficit to eight points.
- The Tornado poured it on in the final ten minutes of play, outscoring the Crusaders 30-10 in the fourth quarter.
- A Crusader three point attempt at the buzzer was no good and the Tornado walked away with their fourth conference victory of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Samsel led the Tornado in scoring with 15 points while tacking on three rebounds and an assist.
- Trinity Lee had a near double-double as she tallied 14 points with nine rebounds and four assists.
- Fritz and Ford joined the double-digit scoring club as well, scoring 11 and 10 respectively.
- After being down 23 points in the third quarter, their largest deficit of the night, the Tornado went on a 38-12 run to pick up the win.
FOR THE FOES
- Savannah Hughes posted a game-high 17 points.
- Peace Okeke had an impressive performance as she notched the game's lone double-double by tallying 14 points and grabbing 14 boards to go along with three assists.
UP NEXT
- King travels to take on Chowan University on Friday and Saturday. Tipoff from Murfreesboro, N.C. is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Friday and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
- North Greenville hosts Southern Wesleyan University on Thursday evening.
