Spartanburg, SC – The last time the Converse Women's Basketball team played King University, they pulled off one of the program's biggest upsets, defeating the Tornado for the first time in 9 years.  Since then, the Valkyries have won two straight road conference games and they were looking forward to being back home in the friendly confines of Hannah Gymnasium.  As the conference tournament draws near, Converse was hoping to continue to move up in the standings, but first they would have to play like they did back on January 28^th.  They knew they were in for a battle, but the Valkyries have been playing some of their best basketball of the season.

The first quarter saw both teams jockeying for position, but they were unable to convert on a number of attempts.  After 2 minutes in, the score was still 0-0. Eventually, King was able to hit a 3-pointer, to take an early 3-0 lead.  They followed that up with another 3, to extend the lead to 6 points.  Jordan Brown put Converse on the board with a short jumper, but the Tornado were able to extend the lead to 11-2.  An offensive rebound and put back from Alliee Pattillo cut the lead to 7 points, 11-4 right before the media timeout.  After the time out, the Tornado connected on their 4^th three of the game to go up by 10 points.  As the quarter came to an end King had a large lead, 26-7.

The Tornado picked up where they left off, as the second quarter began, hitting a layup and then forcing a Valkyries turnover.  Keyshuna Fair put Converse on the board, but King would force another turnover to gain possession.  Two free throws from Alliee Pattillo, pushed the Valkyries to double digitals, but another 3-pointer gave the Tornado a 20-point lead.  A 3-point play from Eva Carballo cut the lead to 16 but King pushed the lead back to 17, after a free throw.  At the media timeout, the Tornado were back up again by 20 points, 35-15.  Another three-point play from Eva Carballo cut it back to 17, but King quickly converted on a layup to go back up by 19 points.  As both teams went to the locker room for the half, the Valkyries found themselves trailing 47-24. 

As the third quarter began, King hit two free throws, but Lyndsey Hardin answered with a short jumper inside the key.  On their next possession, Keyshuna Fair attacked the basket and was fouled, as she connected on 1 of 2 free throws.  Converse forced a turnover and Jordan Brown was able to turn it into 2 points.  Once again, Fair attacked the basket and was fouled sending her to the free throw line, where she connected on both.  As the Tornado brought the ball down the court, Jordan Brown stole the ball and drove down the court for a fast break layup to keep the lead under 20.  Unfortunately, the Valkyries could not cut into the King lead and found themselves down, 70-41.

The fourth quarter would be a tough uphill climb for Converse.  However, the Tornado would hit their 12^th 3-pointer of the game to distance themselves by 32-points.  The Valkyries continued to push the ball on offense and get to the free throw line.  Daven West did her part at the line and she followed that up by a strong defensive rebound.  Unfortunately, King would continue to convert on their side of the ball and the Valkyries were not able to cut into lead.  This would not be the outcome Converse was hoping for as they fell to the Tornado by a score of 86-58.

The Valkyries were led by Eva Carballo, who had a career day, scoring 18 points and going 7-8 from the free throw line.  She was followed by Jordan Brown, who added 12 points and 5 rebounds.  Alliee Pattillo and Keyshuna Fair each contributed with 8 points each.  Converse will have a quick turnaround as they welcome on Southern Wesleyan to Hannah Gymnasium on Thursday.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.