Andrea Jones scored 19 points and Jasmine McDonald added a career-high 18 points as Mount Olive withstood a late rally to extend its winning streak to six with a 70-67 victory over Barton in Conference Carolinas women's basketball Wednesday at Wilson, N.C. Tamara Nesmith notched her fourth double-double of the season as the Trojans gained sole possession of first place in the Conference Carolinas East Division.

Dubbed "Battle of the East II," the game between the two arch-rivals served as a fund-raiser for Make-a-Wish. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committees for both Mount Olive and Barton organized the fund-raising activities.

Mount Olive (10-3 overall, 4-0 Conference Carolinas) led by nine at the half and Destinee Webb scored on an inbounds play in the opening minute of the second half to give the Trojans their first double-digit lead of the game. Barton (8-5, 3-1) chipped away and Janae Jackson's putback with 12:24 remaining pulled the Bulldogs within 45-43. All of Jackson's eight rebounds were on the offensive end.

Nesmith's five-foot jumper ended a four-minute field goal drought for Mount Olive and Jones followed with three consecutive fast-break baskets in a span of 71 seconds as the Trojans scored 10 unanswered points for a 55-43 lead with 8:58 remaining. Mount Olive took its biggest lead of the game at 58-45 after Shanice Pringle's free throw with 7:50 left to play.

Back-to-back baskets by Jackson capped a 6-0 run for Barton, but Webb sliced through the lane for Mount Olive to end the run. After a Trojan defensive stop, Nesmith pulled an offensive rebound off a missed three-point attempt. The possession turned into a three-point play as Jones hit a pair of technical free throws and Nesmith hit 1-of-2 from the line to push the margin back to double figures at 63-51 with 5:01 remaining.

Nesmith's short jumper with 2:31 left would be Mount Olive's only field goal in the final five minutes as Barton made one final run. Shante Neal's midcourt steal and layup with 48 seconds left pulled the Bulldogs within 66-62, but McDonald answered with a pair of free throws with 27 seconds remaining.

After Barton again cut the lead to four on Jolanda Mitchell's putback with 18 seconds left, Nesmith sank a pair one second later to extend the lead to 70-64. Barton had missed its first nine three-point attempts, but Nyeshea Willie connected from the left corner with 12 seconds left to cut the margin in half and make it a one-possession game.

Mount Olive broke the press and ran the clock down to 5.9 seconds before drawing a foul. The Trojans had a chance to seal the win, but missed both free throws. A Barton three-point attempt at the buzzer had a chance to fall, but went off the rim and the backboard.

The win was Mount Olive's first on Barton's homecourt since rallying from 17 points down for a 74-71 victory over the Bulldogs in the semifinal round of the 2008 Conference Carolinas Tournament.

The first half saw five lead changes and three ties until McDonald's three-pointer with 6:51 left broke a 22-22 tie and put Mount Olive on top for good. Jones and McDonald both connected on three-pointers during an 8-1 run to extend the Trojans' lead to 33-26 with 3:41 left before halftime.

Barton pulled within five after Shante Neal sank a pair of free throws, but McDonald hit a short jumper and Mount Olive went on to take a 39-30 lead over the Bulldogs at the break. Jones and McDonald combined for 25 points in the first half, including 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range. McDonald and Tamara Nesmith recorded three steals apiece as Mount Olive had 10 steals in the first half.

After being held to four points in the first half, Nesmith finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also had three steals and shared game-high honors with Webb with five assists. Alyssa Luebs pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, while McDonald finished with seven boards and four assists. Five of Luebs' rebounds were on the offensive end.

Jannetta Robinson led Barton with 16 points, while Willie added 15 points. Willie was one of three Bulldog players to pull down nine rebounds as Barton outrebounded the Trojans 49-36, including 24 offensive boards.

Mount Olive has its first home contest of 2012 Saturday as the Trojans play host to Lees-McRae in Conference Carolinas action. Tip-off is 2 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.