MOUNT OLIVE (Dec. 10) – Junior Laila Harris registered a career-high 20 points on Saturday evening, as the Trojans edged Virginia State in the closing seconds 59-58 to secure the win in non-conference play at Kornegay Arena.

With the win, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball stretches its winning streak to three straight and improves to 5-4 overall behind a 4-1 mark at home. It marks just the second meeting between the sides dating back to 2011, with UMO winning both contests. Meanwhile, VSU falls to 3-5 this season and holds an 0-2 mark against Conference Carolinas opponents.

Harris led all scorers with 20 points after converting 10-of-17 shooting while tallying five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks in 35 minutes. The New Jersey native has scored in double-figures in seven-consecutive games and ranks fifth in the league in scoring with 13.9 points per game.

Freshman Maleiya Hill totaled 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals in 35 minutes, while senior Makayla Kimble finished with seven points, four assists, and three steals in 33 minutes of play. Sophomore Tiandria Tucker produced six points, five rebounds, and two steals in 25 minutes on Saturday.

Mount Olive established an early 10-2 advantage in the initial three minutes of the contest after Harris led the way with six points. Virginia State countered by scoring seven of the following nine points to close the gap to 12-9 with 1:50 left in the first. UMO shot three-of-three from the floor to finish the first quarter with an 18-11 lead. In the second, VSU knocked down a three-pointer in the opening minute before Mount Olive made four-of-six field goals to extend the lead to 27-19 with 5:08 left before the break. Virginia State mounted a 7-2 rally over nearly three minutes to trim the deficit to 29-26 before UMO scored four of the final five points to hold a 33-27 advantage at halftime.

Both teams traded baskets in the first minute of the third before a scoreless drought stretched over four-plus minutes. Mount Olive responded by making five-of-six shots with four players contributing to taking a 45-35 lead with 2:30 remaining in the quarter. VSU managed to tally five of the following seven points to trail 47-40 heading to the final quarter. Over the opening five minutes of the fourth, Virginia State converted five-of-eight field goals while forcing three turnovers to cut the deficit to 54-52 with 4:59 left. VSU would tie the game at 57-57 with just over a minute remaining before taking its only lead of the game after making one-of-two from the line, 58-57. With 37 seconds left, freshman Laila Anderson hit the eventual game-winner on a floating jumper to seal the 59-58 victory.

UMO finished the game shooting 25-of-54 (46.3 percent) from the floor and converted seven-of-eight (87.5 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Virginia State shot at a 34.5 clip (19-of-55) and made 18-of-26 (69.2) from the charity stripe. VSU finished with a 37-35 rebounding advantage with 28 points in the paint, while Mount Olive scored 33 points off 25 forced turnovers.

Junior Kalyn Ervin finished with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists, and six steals in 35 minutes of action. Senior Sommer Blakemore tallied 16 points on 6-of-13 from the field with six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in 30 minutes, while sophomore Victoria Hinton posted nine points and five rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.

UMO returns to play on Wednesday, Dec. 14, when its hosts Emmanuel in Conference Carolinas action in Kornegay Arena at 5 p.m.