HIGH POINT, North Carolina - The University of Mount Olive women's basketball team fell to the Panthers of High Point University 82-68 during their exhibition game on Friday night. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
Mount Olive got on the scoreboard first scoring the opening points of the contest with a jump shot from Ayonna Cotten. Both teams kept giving up the lead throughout the quarter with five lead changes with the Trojans down by six at the end of the quarter 17-11.

In the second quarter the Panthers kicked it into gear taking a nine-point lead with 9:42 remaining in the half. UMO responded with a two made free throws from Azariah Fields, but the Trojans continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal as they brought the score within four 20-16. A three-pointer with 7:06 minutes left in the half, Cotten tied the game at 21-21. HPU closed out the first half with a 14-point lead.  

The second half the momentum shifted to High Point as they did not let the Trojans within 12 for the remainder of the half. The panthers took home the 14 point victory 82-68.

COACHES COMMENTS
"I am extremely proud of our team's effort and toughness tonight against a sharp shooting High Point team that won the Big South last season.  We showed a lot of heart from start to finish in this game, as well as maturity which is necessary to be able to go on the road and compete against A well respected Division 1 program. Our seniors have really stepped up at an early stage in our season and provided a lot of confidence and composure for us to build on and we are excited about the future for this team," said Head Coach Wendy Lee.
 

MOUNT OLIVE LEADERS
The Trojans were led by Ivanda Hudjakova with 22 points, Laila Harris added 10 rebounds and 11 points. Azariah Fields also took home 17 points, and five rebounds. 

PANTHERS LEADERS
The Panthers were led by Skyler Curran with 18 points.

UP NEXT
Mount Olive will back will be back on the road to open up their regular season at Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC on November 20th at 2:00 p.m.