BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University women's basketball team led after the first quarter, but were outscored in the second quarter and never recovered, falling to the UNC Pembroke Braves 84-64 Friday night.
Trinity Lee and
Brianna Dunbar both had 13 points for the Tornado, with Lee pulling six rebounds.
THE BASICS
FINAL: UNC Pembroke 84, King University 64
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 9-7, 8-5 Conference Carolinas; UNC Pembroke 13-7, 11-5 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- King scored on their first possession of the game, as Dunbar grabbed an offensive rebound and made the put back layup.
- Lee drew a foul and hit two free throws to extend the lead to 4-0.
- The Tornado pulled ahead to a 10-5 lead on back-to-back threes by Dunbar and Desiree Bates.
- After the Braves tied the game, King went on a 9-0 run to take a 19-10 lead, which would end up being their largest of the game.
- UNCP ended the quarter on an 8-2 run, cutting the Tornado lead to 21-18.
Second Period
- The Braves scored the first nine points of the quarter, with the first King bucket being a layup courtesy of Caroline Harville, cutting the Braves advantage to 27-23.
- King wouldn't score again until the two-minute mark, when Dunbar hit a short jumper to make it a 31-25 game.
- After UNC Pembroke hit a jumper, the Tornado scored the final points of the half on a Jhayda McKinney triple, making it a 35-28 lead at the half.
Third Period
- Coming out of the locker room, the Tornado scored six consecutive points, with Lee and Bates hitting back-to-back threes, getting King to within 35-34.
- After King tied the game, the Braves scored 10 straight points to reopen a 48-38 lead.
- They finished the quarter on an 8-6 run, with King getting a pair of free throws from Dunbar to make it a 56-44 lead.
Fourth Period
- The Braves wasted no time in the fourth quarter, hitting a three within the first 20 seconds of the period to take a 59-44 lead.
- Lee responded on the other end of the floor, drilling her own triple.
- King took a timeout after back-to-back buckets from the Braves, giving them a 63-47 lead.
- The teams traded buckets over the next five minutes, with the Tornado getting to within 70-60 off a Harville layup with 3:50 to play.
- There was a flurry of scoring in the final three and a half minutes, with the Braves getting the better of King, scoring 14 points compared to King's six to win the game 84-64.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dunbar and Lee both led the Tornado with 13 points, with Lee pulling a team-high six rebounds and dishing four assists.
- McKinney finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
FOR THE FOES
- Courtney Smith led all scorers with 21 points while Gabby Smith scored 19 and Alcenia Purnell had 15.
- Kelci Adams had a team-high six rebounds, while five different Braves had five.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- King's 44 three-point attempts is the most in the Division II era, which stretches back to the 2010-11 season. The only other time they have cleared the 40-attempt mark was Dec. 14, 2013 when they attempted 41 against Virginia Intermont
UP NEXT
- King is back in action Saturday, hosting Francis Marion University at 2 p.m.
- UNC Pembroke is also in action Saturday at Lees-McRae College.
