Storylines – vs King University
After a slow start, Josh Thompson's King Tornado are on a roll. King has won three consecutive games and sits atop the Conference Carolinas standings at 3-0. Guard Whitney Mitchell has been a spark for the Tornado offense, the Oak Ridge, Tenn. product is averaging 15.9 points per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field. Last week, Mitchell posted back-to-back games of 20 or more points en route to conference player of the week acclaim. Mitchell is one of three players averaging double figures, Bristol, Tenn. native Sheena Johnson is chipping in 15.7 points per game while Arnelle Collins is scoring 12 points a contest. Combined the trio of guards account for 43.6 points per game. A year ago, King dropped a 72-67 decision in Wise as
Allison Ball turned in a 16-point performance for the Cavaliers. The last time the two schools played in Bristol, King limited UVa-Wise to 38 points en route to a 54-38 victory. The two schools played twice a year throughout most of the history of both programs before the series halted in 2010. Since resuming play, the series is tied 1-1 with each team winning on its own home floor.
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise is coming off its first loss in six games as the Cavaliers were defeated 103-78 at Glenville State Saturday. Turnovers were the primary culprit as
Kristin Kunzman's team turned the ball over 26 times against the Pioneers. A bright spot in the loss was the play of freshman
Kayla Mullins. The Clintwood, Va. native made eight of 12 shot attempts while turning the ball over just once in 28 minutes of play in scoring a season-high 19 points. Senior
Kayla Carey extended her streak of scoring in double figures to eight consecutive games to begin the season with 15 points. The game will begin a stretch of four consecutive non-conference games to close 2016 for UVa-Wise. The Cavs will travel to Puerto Rico for a pair of games before playing their final non-conference game of the season on New Year's Eve at home against Lees-McRae College. Thus far, UVa-Wise is 3-1 in non-league games, including a 54-51 win over Indiana University Pennsylvania. Currently, the Crimson Hawks are 2-0 and stand in a first place tie in the Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference west division. Carey along with fellow senior
Makenzie Cluesman could record the 1,000th point of their careers at King. Carey has 991 points while Cluesman has tallied 986 points. When the duo reaches the 1,000 point plateau, they will join teammate
Taylor Sandidge in the 1,000 point club at the College. It will mark the first time UVa-Wise has had at least three 1,000 point scorers on the same team since Kristin Mullins, Amber Carter and Meghan Rutherford played together during the 2010-11 season.
