PEMBROKE, N.C. – The King University women's basketball fell to the UNC Pembroke Braves on Saturday afternoon by a score of 55-49 after the Braves mounted a second half comeback.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: UNC Pembroke 55 – King 49
LOCATION: English E. Jones Center; Pembroke, N.C.
RECORDS: King 5-8 (3-3 Conference Carolinas) | UNC Pembroke 13-3 (7-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
- Mariya Williams stole the ball on UNC Pembroke's opening possession and took it back down the court for a layup for the first score of the game.
- The Braves tied the game before King scored 16 straight with all five starters getting at least one basket.
- Alayna Smith would give King their largest lead of the game with her second free throw with 18 seconds left to go. The Tornado ended the first quarter up 23-6.
- Williams recorded 8 points and two teams in the opening period.
Second Quarter
- Alexa Gramann started the scoring with a jumpshot.
- Le'Aije Ellington hit two shots from inside the paint but the Braves pulled back within single digits as the teams headed to the locker room with the Tornado leading 33-25.
- Williams added another steal from the defensive end.
Third Quarter
- After both teams came up empty on the opening possessions of the second half, Williams made another shot at 8:32.
- Ellington and Williams responded to UNC Pembroke getting within 2 points with back to back shots before the Braves hit a buzzer beater three-point shot.
- Williams tacked on three more steals to help the defensive efforts of the Tornado.
Fourth Quarter
- UNC Pembroke scored 11 unanswered and kept King scoreless for most of the period.
- King's first score of the quarter came from Sarah Thompson's three-pointer at the 1:46 mark.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mariya Williams led the Tornado with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Defensively she had all six of King's steals and six rebounds off the defensive glass.
- Sarah Thompson shot 3-9 from the floor and 2-4 from beyond the arc to score 10 points. All four of her rebounds came on the defensive end of the court.
- Alayna Smith pulled down five rebounds while both Williams and Thompson each dished out 2 assists.
FOR THE FOES
- Stella Mollica led the Braves with 16 points, shooting 5-10 from the floor and 4-4 from the charity stripe.
- Both Mollica and Kelci Adams pulled down seven rebounds each. Mollica and Anastasia Sinclair each had two steals. Sinclair had six assists.
UP NEXT
The King University women's basketball will be back on the road on Tuesday, January 14 as they take on Converse at 5:00 pm.
