WILSON, N.C. (Jan. 11) – Behind four players in double-figures and a strong second-half performance, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team claimed a 77-72 victory at Barton on Wednesday night in Conference Carolinas play.

With the win, the Trojans improve to 9-7 this season behind a 5-3 record in league action. Mount Olive snaps a seven-game skid against the Bulldogs while securing its first win on the road in the series since 2017. Meanwhile, Barton drops their third-straight game and falls to 2-11 overall with a 2-4 mark in conference play.

Freshman Laila Anderson produced a game-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shots with a pair of three-pointers while adding five steals in 27 minutes off the bench. The Burlington School product collects her second 20-point performance of the year and ranks second on the team with 9.6 points per game.

Junior Reagan Hune finished with a double-double after tallying 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting with 12 rebounds (four offensive) in 29 minutes off the bench. Fellow junior Haleigh Crews also recorded 13 points with five rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 29 minutes. Junior Laila Harris reached double-figures with 10 points while adding eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block in 38 minutes.

In the first, the Bulldogs scored the initial four points of the contest before building the advantage to 10-5 with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter. Despite the slow start, the Trojans quickly cut into the deficit after converting a perfect four-of-four from the line, 10-9. Barton tallied five of the final seven points to hold a 15-11 lead after the opening quarter. The Bulldogs remained ahead through the early minutes of the second with a 20-14 advantage at the 7:24 mark. Mount Olive trimmed the deficit with five-straight points, including a three-pointer from sophomore Kaia Simpson, in just 17 seconds, 20-19. After the instant run, both teams went scoreless for nearly four minutes before Barton made a three-point play with under three minutes to go. UMO answered and finished the half by making four-of-five from the field as part of an 11-5 run to take a 30-28 advantage into halftime.

Both teams exchanged points in the opening five minutes of the third before the Trojans tallied nine unanswered to stretch the lead to 48-38 with 2:51 left in the quarter. The Bulldogs responded by scoring five consecutive points to close the gap, but Mount Olive finished the third with a 7-0 run to hold a 55-43 advantage. In the fourth, Barton cut the deficit to 58-52 with 6:11 remaining following a 9-3 rally. UMO countered with five-straight points to build the lead back to 63-52 and continued to stay ahead late into the quarter. With under a minute left, the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to 73-69 after an 8-0 run, but the Trojans secured the win at the free-throw line, 77-72.

The Trojans finished the game shooting 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the floor while converting 21-of-30 (70.0 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs shot at a 38.6 clip (22-of-57) from the field and made 22-of-34 (64.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Mount Olive finished with a 42-35 rebounding advantage and scored 38 points off the bench, while Barton totaled 24 points off 28 turnovers forced.

Junior Cierra Revelle led the team with 18 points on 6-of-10 from the floor with six rebounds and five steals over 35 minutes of play. Fellow junior Lauren Walker finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 31 minutes, while redshirt freshman Skylar Quillet registered 11 points and nine rebounds in 35 minutes.

The Trojans return to league play on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they travel to face Emmanuel on the road, starting at 2 p.m.