Tamara Nesmith recorded her second-straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, but Mount Olive suffered consecutive losses for the first time this season as the Trojans fell to Erskine 68-55 in Conference Carolinas women's basketball Saturday at Kornegay Arena. The game was part of the 29th Annual Mount Olive College Basketball Church Night.

The contest also marked Senior Night and the Trojans' regular season home finale. Seniors Chantel Gaines, Patty Adkins and Shae Garner were recognized prior to the game. Although Mount Olive finishes the regular season on the road next week, the Trojans already clinched a top two spot in the East Division and secured a home game in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.

Joneiqua Gary's steal on Erskine's first possession of the second half led to Nesmith's layup as Mount Olive (17-7, 11-4 Conference Carolinas) cut into a seven-point halftime deficit. Sha'Niqua Whitley answered with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws for Erskine to give the Flying Fleet their first double-digit lead of the game at 27-17 with 17:51 left in the contest.

Mount Olive pulled within seven after Kirksten Mitchell's basket, but a pair of fastbreak layups by Porsha Morgan capped a 7-0 run and gave Erskine (12-12, 9-7) its biggest lead of the game at 39-25 with 12:35 remaining. The Trojans never got any closer than seven the rest of the way.

In the first half, the Trojans went scoreless for more than five minutes midway through the period as Erskine built its lead to 17-8 after a pair of Morgan free throws with 5:53 left before halftime. Ty Wallace converted a three-point play for Mount Olive and Gary's 10-foot jumper with 1:27 remaining pulled the Trojans within 19-15. But Lindsey Weidenaar hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Flying Fleet a 22-15 advantage at the break.

Playing in her first game in more than a week since being sidelined by an injury, Mitchell scored 11 points for Mount Olive, while Andrea Jones added 10 points. Jasmine McDonald, who pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds Tuesday against Barton, finished with a game-high 14 rebounds Saturday. Nesmith also had five assists and three steals.

Morgan led Erskine with game highs of 18 points and eight assists, while Whitley added 17 points. Elizabeth Tatum finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Whitley was 8-for-8 from the free throw line, while Morgan went 7-for-10.

Mount Olive returns to action Tuesday as the Trojans travel to Laurinburg, N.C., to take on St. Andrews in a Conference Carolinas match-up. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.