GAFFNEY, S.C. – The King University women's basketball team earned their first win this season in a neutral site game against Lincoln Memorial. The Tornado were trailing 33-28 at halftime, but after a strong second half in which they out scored Railsplitters 40-21 to take the 68-54 victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Lincoln Memorial 54 – King 68
LOCATION: Timken Center; Gaffney, S.C.
RECORDS: King 1-1, 0-0 Conference Carolinas | Lincoln Memorial 1-1, 0-0 South Atlantic Conference
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
- Lincoln Memorial got out to a 5-0 lead to start the game, and held the lead for all of the first half.
- The Railsplitters had their largest scoring run with seven straight in the first quarter to make the score 12-4. King responded with five points from Le'Aije Ellington and Sarah Thompson. Another Thompson jump ball brough the Tornado within a point with 2:32 left in the opening period.
Second Quarter
- Alexa Gramann scored seven points as the Tornado continued to battle the deficit.
- Gramann's layup closed out the first half with Lincoln Memorial leading by five.
Third Quarter
- Mariya Williams opened the second half with back to back shots before Thompson's layup pushed King out front for the first time in the game.
- The teams traded jump shots before Williams had a layup at 4:16. The Tornado wouldn't trail for the remainder of the game.
- In the third quarter, King scored 16 points – 10 of which came from Williams.
Fourth Quarter
- Thompson had a three-pointer ten seconds into the final period. King would go on to score 24 points in the final frame.
- Ashley Allen would lead the charge going 3-3 from the field and hitting a free throw for seven points in the fourth quarter. Five different Tornado players scored as they stretched the lead to 14 and secured the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- All five King starters scored double-digit points and combined for 61 of the team's 68 points.
- Sarah Thompson led with 14 points and 4 assists while Ashley Allen secured a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
- Jaelyn West had 7 points off the bench. King had 9 total steals – Mariya Williams had a team high 3.
- King also outscored Lincoln Memorial 32-22 on points in the paint and 14-12 on fast breaks. The Tornado had 43 rebounds to the Railsplitters 30.
FOR THE FOES
- Matty Tanner had a game-high 16 points to lead the Railsplitter offense.
- Kamil Collier had 8 rebounds while Alexa Smiddy had 5 assists and four steals.
- The Railsplitters shot 33.3% from the field and 10-11 from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
The King University women's basketball will continue their opening road trip as they head to Emory & Henry on Nov. 13.
