Mount Olive saw a 20-point second-half lead disappear, but Ty Wallace's basket with 3:32 left in overtime put the Trojans ahead to stay for a 73-68 victory over Belmont Abbey in Conference Carolinas women's basketball Saturday at Belmont, N.C. Tamara Nesmith led four Trojans in double figures with 16 points and converted a three-point play with 51 seconds remaining in overtime to help seal the win.

Jasmine McDonald, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, put Mount Olive (15-5, 9-2 Conference Carolinas) ahead 61-59 on a layup with 1:35 left in regulation. A free throw pulled Belmont Abbey within a point and the Crusaders had a chance to take the lead, but an errant pass out of bounds gave the ball back to the Trojans.

Nesmith beat Belmont Abbey's press for a layup with 15 seconds remaining to give Mount Olive a 63-60 lead. The Crusaders ran the clock down and Melisa Foures hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 1.3 seconds left to tie the game. A desperation length-of-the-court shot by Mount Olive was well short and the game went into overtime.

Mount Olive fell behind 65-64 with 3:57 left in overtime, but the Trojans would hold Belmont Abbey (10-11, 6-6) without a field goal until the final minute. Wallace's jumper put Mount Olive back on top and neither team scored until Destinee Webb's putback of her own miss gave the Trojans a 68-65 lead with 1:40 remaining.

After Paula Regalado hit a free throw for Belmont Abbey, Nesmith hit a layup and drew a foul with 51 seconds left. Nesmith sank the free throw after a Belmont Abbey free throw to extend the Trojans' lead to 71-66.  Regalado pulled down an offensive rebound in traffic and scored off the glass to make it a one-possession game with 33 seconds left.

The Trojans missed a free throw with 17 seconds left, giving Belmont Abbey another chance to tie. But McDonald stole the ball and outraced the defense for a layup at the buzzer for the final margin.

Mount Olive took its biggest lead of the game at 43-23 on Kirksten Mitchell's three-pointer with 15:13 left in regulation. Caitlyn Ranson answered with two three-pointers 29 seconds apart for Belmont Abbey and Kelsey Long added a pair of three-pointers to pull the Crusaders within single digits at 46-37 with 10:39 left.

The margin was cut to three before McDonald hit a layup with 2:53 remaining to give Mount Olive a 59-54 lead. Regalado scored on Belmont Abbey's next possession and Ranson's fifth three-pointer of the contest tied the game with 1:58 left in regulation.

McDonald's three-pointer six minutes into the contest broke a 4-4 tie and put Mount Olive ahead to stay for the remainder of the second half. Mitchell's three-pointer with 8:34 left in the first half completed a 12-2 run and gave the Trojans a 22-8 lead.

Belmont Abbey got as close as seven points after Foures' three-pointer with 2:51 remaining, but Mount Olive closed the half on a 9-0 run. McDonald's layup just before the buzzer gave the Trojans a 36-20 halftime lead.

Mitchell finished with 11 points for Mount Olive and Joneiqua Gary added 10 points. Nesmith recorded five steals, while McDonald finished with four steals.

Long led all players with 23 points for Belmont Abbey, while Ranson added 19 points. Regalado notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to Pfeiffer in a Conference Carolinas match-up. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.