YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The No. 8 seed King University women's basketball team defeated the No. 11 seed Lees-McRae Bobcats in Sunday's Atlantic Casualty Insurance Conference Carolinas First Round hosted by Young Harris.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 57 – Lees-McRae 49
LOCATION: The Harp Recreation & Commencement Center; Young Harris, Ga.
RECORDS: King 13-15 | Lees-McRae 7-18
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Mariya Williams opened the game with a layup. Le'Aije Ellington started a six-point scoring run for King a few possessions later with Sarah Thompson and Ashley Allen assisting her. King would lead the remainder of the game.
- Ellington's fastbreak layup off a turnover at the 5:07 mark in the first quarter gave King their first double-digit lead at 18-7. The Tornado led 23-12 after the first ten minutes of play. Williams and Thompson each scored 6 and Williams had tallied 4 rebounds in the first period.
- Alayna Smith opened the second quarter with her own five unanswered points to extend King's lead to 16. Both teams had a low scoring second quarter as King added a total of 9 points to their total and Lees-McRae scored 8. The Tornado took a 32-20 lead to the halftime locker room.
- The Bobcats came out of the break with five straight points to cut the lead down to seven, but Thompson responded with a three-point shot.
- With 4:08 left in the third quarter, Lees-McRae got within two points of the Tornado with six points from Sandra Mason and Leah Barringer. Smith hit a layup and Thompson hit a three-point shot to push King's lead back to seven.
- Williams hit another layup with six seconds left in the quarter to put King up 48-43 with 10 minutes to play.
- After another strong offensive performance by both teams in the third quarter, the fourth quarter was low scoring with King adding nine points as Williams, Thompson, and Smith each hit a shot inside the paint and a free throw. Thompson scored King's last points at the 5:29 mark and Lees-McRae added six points, closing the game with a pair of free throws.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sarah Thompson had a game-high 17 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. She also had three steals.
- Mariya Williams was one rebound off a double-double with her 13 points and 9 rebounds. She had a game-high 4 steals and 3 blocks.
- Alayna Smith rounded out the double digit scorers with 12 points and a new season-high 9 rebounds.
- Raven Addison and Le'Aije Ellington each had three steals as King totaled 18 steals on the night.
- The Tornado outscored Lees-McRae 20-14 on points from turnovers, 32-20 inside the paint, 7-4 on second chance points, and 19-16 on points from the bench.
- King held the lead for all but 52 seconds of the game, during which the score was tied.
UP NEXT
The King Tornado will move on in the Conference Carolinas Tournament to the second round to play No. 5 seed Young Harris tomorrow, March 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
