Andrea Jones led four players in double figures with 20 points and Jasmine McDonald and Tamara Nesmith both recorded double-doubles as Mount Olive withstood a series of second-half rallies for a 73-65 victory over Chowan in non-conference women's basketball Saturday at Kornegay Arena. McDonald finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double in three games, while Nesmith added 14 points and 13 rebounds.

After seeing a 21-point first-half lead sliced to eight points midway through the second half, Mount Olive (2-1) appeared to pull away as Jones' jumper put the Trojans ahead 60-44 with 5:03 left to play. But Chowan (1-3) rallied again as three-pointers by Talaya Lynch started and finished a 13-3 run to make it  a two-possession game at 63-57 with 2:45 remaining.

Jones answered with a pull-up three-pointer on Mount Olive's next possession and McDonald hit a jumper after a defensive stop as the Trojans' lead returned to double figures. The margin never fell below seven in the final two minutes.

In the first half, Jones and Kirksten Mitchell combined for the first 11 points in a 16-0 run and McDonald's three-pointer gave Mount Olive a 22-3 lead with 10:27 left. The lead grew to 26-5 on a jumper by McDonald with 9:12 remaining, but the Trojans would manage only one more field goal the remainder of the half.

Chowan was limited to two field goals through the first 15 minutes of the game, but stayed in the contest by connecting on 9-of-12 free throws in the first half. Ransheda Jennings hit a pair of free throws with 2:41 left to pull the Hawks within 28-17.

Alyssa Luebs answered with a pair of free throws for Mount Olive and McDonald's jumper with 1:33 left ended an eight-minute field goal drought as the Trojans went into the locker room with a 32-18 halftime lead.

Chowan was only 1-for-9 from three-point range in the first half, but Lynch and Janelle Murphy combined for three three-pointers in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half to pull the Hawks within 37-29. The margin was still eight at 44-36 with 12:20 left when Mount Olive made a run to extend the lead, only to have to hold off one final Chowan comeback attempt.

Mitchell finished with 11 points for Mount Olive, hitting 7-of-9 free throws. Luebs was 7-for-8 from the line and flirted with a double-double with nine points and seven rebounds. Nesmith was 6-for-7 from the line and had a team-high four steals, while McDonald was 8-for-11 from the field. Luebs and Destinee Webb dished out four assists apiece.

Lynch shared game-high honors with 20 points for Chowan, while Murphy added 10 points. Jennings narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points to go with game highs of eight assists and six steals.

Mount Olive is off until after Thanksgiving when the Trojans travel to Brevard, N.C., November 28 to take on Brevard in a non-conference match-up. Tip-off is 6 p.m.