Mount Olive made a late run, but the East Division-leading Trojans suffered their first conference loss of the season, falling to West Division leader Limestone 76-64 in Conference Carolinas women's basketball Saturday at Gaffney, S.C. Tamara Nesmith led four players in double figures for Mount Olive, which had its eight-game winning streak snapped.

Despite the loss, Mount Olive remains in sole possession of first place in the East Division, one game ahead of Barton, which fell 53-52 Saturday at King. Limestone extended its winning streak to nine and is now the lone remaining unbeaten team in conference play.

Mount Olive (12-4 overall, 6-1 Conference Carolinas) trailed by seven at the half and fell behind by 11 points early in the second half. Andrea Jones, who was held to a single field goal in the first half, scored six points during an 8-2 run to pull the Trojans within 48-43 with 12:53 left to play.

The Trojans got as close as four points, but Maria Young's three-pointer ignited an 8-0 Limestone run as the Saints extended their lead to 58-46 with 7:45 remaining. Nesmith's basket ended a four-minute scoreless drought for Mount Olive, but Tia Williams and Young each connected from beyond the arc as Limestone (14-4, 8-0) took its biggest lead at 64-50 with 5:34 left.

A three-pointer by Jones and a putback by Jasmine McDonald helped Mount Olive pull within eight points, but Limestone hit 6-of-6 free throws in the final 1:07 to keep the Trojans from getting any closer.

Mount Olive got off to a fast start as Kirksten Mitchell's three-pointer and her steal and layup helped the Trojans jump out to a 9-3 lead in the first three-plus minutes of the contest. After Limestone rallied to tie the game, Nesmith and Alyssa Luebs assisted on each other's basket to give the Trojans a four-point lead with 12:49 left in the first half.

Young answered with a three-pointer and Kaileigh West's basket with 11:01 left put the Saints on top for the remainder of half at 16-15. The margin stayed at one possession until Young hit another three with 4:10 remaining to give the Saints a 29-25 advantage. Baskets by Nesmith and Luebs pulled Mount Olive within a point, but Limestone outscored the Trojans 8-2 in the final two minutes of the half to take a 38-31 halftime lead.

Jones finished with 14 points and a game-high four steals for Mount Olive, while McDonald added 13 points. Luebs had 12 points and eight rebounds to go with a game-high five assists. Nesmith was 7-for-10 from the field, but the Trojans were limited to 41.3 percent shooting as a team.

West led all players with19 points and nine rebounds for Limestone, going 9-for-12 from the field. Young hit 4-of-6 three-pointers and finished with 15 points.

With Mount Olive and Limestone both entering the game unbeaten in conference play and unbeaten in conference play, Saturday's contest marked the second year in a row the two teams played in a high-profile game. Last year's match-up at Gaffney was nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to Queens in a Conference Carolinas match-up. The two teams split last year's meetings, each winning on its home court. Mount Olive rallied from a four-point deficit in the final 27 seconds in its win. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.