Box Score

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Shooting just 23.7 percent from the field, the University of Pikeville women's basketball team lost at King (Tenn.) 63-51 on Thursday night.

The Tornado weren't much better at 39 percent, but with the Bears struggling and being outrebounded 60-40, King was able to build a double-digit lead nine minutes into the first half and keep it for the majority of the game.

Callisha Johnson led UPIKE (3-6) with 11 points as the only Bear in double figures in the low-scoring contest. Courtney Haney chipped in with four points and nine rebounds, while Cheyenne Madden had eight points and five rebounds and Kandice Porter tallied seven points and five boards.

Kelly Jackson paced King (5-2) with 14 points and Chelsea Bowling added 11. Bonnie Durrett grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, while Alley Sprouse and Sydney Harris had 12 and 10 boards, respectively.

The Bears did hit one more three than the Tornado with six and hit 9-of-11 free-throw attempts, but none of it could make up for the 18-of-76 performance from the field.

Pikeville never led in the game as Jackson made a shot in the paint to put King up 2-0 and the Bears didn't get on the scoreboard until the 17:02 mark to make it 5-2. Six minutes later the Tornado led 17-5 which was the start of a 13-0 run that lasted nearly 10 minutes without a UPIKE point.

The lead swelled to as many as 18 points for King before going into halftime with a 33-15 advantage.

While the Tornado build their largest lead of 19 early in the second half, UPIKE trimmed the deficit to nine with a free throw from Porter with 11 minutes to play. King answered with a 13-4 run and once again the Bears were down by double figures for the remainder of the half.

UPIKE is back in action at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, hosting Berea (Ky.) at the East Ky. Expo Center.