East No. 2 seed Mount Olive came up a game short of its fourth 20-win season and fourth championship game appearance in the last five years as the Trojans fell to West No. 1 seed Limestone 81-59 in the semifinal round of the 2012 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament Thursday at Gaffney, S.C. Tamara Nesmith led the Trojans with 22 points, while Jasmine McDonald added 16 points and Joneiqua Gary finished with 10 points.

Mount Olive ends its season with a 19-9 mark, while Limestone will host Barton in the tournament championship game Saturday evening.

Mount Olive trailed by 19 at halftime before Andrea Jones sparked a rally early in the second half. Jones' putback with 14:33 left began a spurt of six Trojan points in a span of 43 seconds. Jones made a steal on Limestone's next possession and found Nesmith for a layup. Jones pulled down the rebound on a Saints missed shot and connected with Nesmith again to pull the Trojans within 49-37 with 13:50 remaining.

Limestone (24-6) built the lead back to 18 as Tia Williams hit three-pointers on back-to-back Saints possessions. Mount Olive never got any closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

In the first half, Nesmith's basket with 13:40 remaining pulled Mount Olive within 9-8. But the Trojans were limited to just one field goal over the next five minutes and Stephanie Hayes' layup capped a 13-2 run to give Limestone a 22-10 lead. The margin stayed at double figures for the remainder of the game.

The Saints' lead grew to as many as 19 before Joneiqua Gary hit a three-pointer and McDonald sank a pair of free throws with 4:49 left in the first half to pull the Trojans within 34-21. Limestone then scored the next five points and Maria Young's three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Saints a 44-25 halftime lead.

Nesmith was 10-for-19 from the field and pulled down six rebounds for the Trojans. Alyssa Luebs shared game-high honors with nine rebounds. McDonald was 8-for-8 from the free throw line and led all players with four steals. Jones dished out four assists.

Young led four Limestone players in double figures with a game-high 26 points. Williams finished with 19 points and Hayes added 17 points. Kaileigh West came close to a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Mount Olive finished second in the Conference Carolinas East Division with a 12-5 regular season conference record. The Trojans recorded 19 wins overall with a predominantly young lineup. Mount Olive's starting lineup was comprised of three juniors and two sophomores.