SALISBURY, N.C. (Nov. 11) – The University of Mount Olive women's basketball team suffered a 65-50 loss in the season-opener on Friday night versus Tusculum in the Conference Challenge hosted by Catawba.
With the loss, the Trojans drop to 0-1 overall after battling foul trouble throughout the game, while also featuring three players in double-figures. UMO was selected fourth in the preseason Conference Carolinas poll and featured four new starters in the lineup. Meanwhile, the Pioneers improve to 1-0 in the early season after being picked ninth in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) preseason rankings.
Freshman
Laila Anderson posted a team-high 13 points on 5-of-16 from the floor in 22 minutes. Junior
Laila Harris finished with 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting while adding three rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes. Teammate
Haleigh Crews also recorded 11 points on 4-of-10 shot attempts with five rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of action.
The Trojans scored the opening basket on a layup by Anderson before Tusculum registered a 10-2 rally over nearly five-plus minutes to take a 10-4 lead with 4:19 left in the quarter. Anderson scored the next nine points for the Trojans to work the deficit down to 18-13 to close out the first. Both teams were scoreless over the initial two-plus minutes of the second quarter before the Pioneers tallied five-consecutive points, 24-13. Harris countered with back-to-back jumpers before UMO went a perfect five-of-five from the field to close the gap 33-29 with 1:56 left before halftime. Tusculum scored one point over the final minutes of play to take a 34-29 lead into the break.
Crews scored the initial basket of the third quarter, but the Pioneers responded with a 7-2 run to extend the lead to 41-33 with 5:58 remaining in the third. Harris answered with a layup before Tusculum scored five-straight points, 46-35. The Trojans finished the third with a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 46-41 heading into the final quarter. The Pioneers shot five-of-seven from the field and scored 12-straight over nearly three minutes to build a 58-41 lead in the fourth. Both teams exchanged the next seven points before a scoreless drought of over two-plus minutes. The Pioneers held a 65-45 advantage with 2:30 left in the game before UMO closed the contest with five-straight points, 65-50.
The Trojans finished the game shooting 32.8 percent (21-of-64) from the field, including just 3-of-25 (12.0 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Pioneers shot at a 49.0 clip (24-of-49) from the floor and were 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Tusculum finished with a 43-32 rebounding advantage, while UMO scored 17 points off of 22 turnovers forced.
A graduate student transfer from Barton, Jami Tham registered a double-double with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds in 32 minutes. A Division I transfer from Coastal Carolina, Blayre Shultz finished with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including three treys with three steals in 37 minutes. Graduate student Mya Belton also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds while adding two steals in 29 minutes.
The Trojans return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 12, as they face Catawba on the final day of the Conference Challenge at 8 p.m.
