WILMINGTON, N.C. (Nov. 16) – Facing a Division I opponent in an exhibition on Wednesday night, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team fell by an 84-59 margin at UNC Wilmington at Trask Coliseum.
With the loss, the Trojans remain at 0-2 overall following the exhibition before returning to non-conference play at Anderson (S.C.) on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Seahawks improve to 1-2 this season and collect their first victory under Interim Head Coach Tina Martin.
Junior
Laila Harris led the team with 17 points after shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and converting a perfect five-fo-five from the free-throw line. She also added three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and a block in 34 minutes.
Junior transfer
Reagan Hune tallied 14 points on 6-of-12 shots attempted with six rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes. Sophomore
Kaia Simpson finished with eight points on three-of-four shots, including a pair of three-pointers, and two rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
UNCW made the opening basket of the game before building a slight 8-5 advantage with 6:44 left in the first. The Trojans answered with a 13-2 run after going six-of-six from the field to take an 18-10 lead. Mount Olive managed to stretch the advantage to 25-15 before the Seahawks scored five straight to close out the first quarter to trail 25-20. In the second quarter, both sides exchanged points over five minutes with UMO holding a 31-28 lead. After a scoreless drought over nearly three minutes, UNCW tied the contest at 31-31 before Simpson nailed a three-pointer with 23 seconds left to reclaim the advantage. The Trojans held a 34-33 lead at the break following a jumper converted with one second left by the Seahawks.
Mount Olive remained ahead early in the third after a pair of three-pointers by senior
Makayla Kimble, 40-37. UNCW countered with an 11-2 rally after forcing four turnovers to take a 48-42 lead with 3:09 left in the quarter. The Seahawks remained ahead over the final three-plus minutes of the third to hold a 53-45 lead after three quarters. Harris and Hune made a pair of shots to close the gap to 53-50 with 8:41 left before UNCW went on a 10-0 run spanning two-plus minutes to extend the advantage to 63-50. Mount Olive responded with back-to-back jumpers, but the Seahawks finish the game with a 21-5 run to seal the win, 84-59.
The Trojans finished the game shooting 48.9 percent (22-of-45) from the floor, including 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Seahawks shot at a 48.3 clip (28-of-58) from the field and converted 27-of-36 (75.0 percent) from the charity stripe. UNCW forced 30 turnovers which resulted in 42 points, while UMO scored 20 points in the paint.
The Seahawks featured five players in double-figures with junior Mary McMillian pacing all players with 21 points on 5-of-16 shooting while knocking down 11-of-15 from the free-throw line. Graduate student Carrie Gross finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 from the floor, while sophomore Jayde Gamble registered 12 points, seven steals, three rebounds, and two assists.
The Trojans return to action on Saturday, Nov. 19, when they travel to face Anderson (S.C.) in non-conference play at 2 p.m.
