CENTRAL, S.C. (Jan. 21) – The University of Mount Olive women's basketball team was unable to overcome a third-quarter surge in a 69-56 loss at Southern Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas play.

With the loss, the Trojans drop to 10-10 this season behind a 6-6 record in league action. Southern Wesleyan snapped a nine-game losing streak to UMO and claimed its first home win over Mount Olive since 2018. Meanwhile, the Warriors improve to 3-17 overall with a 3-9 mark in conference play.

Junior Laila Harris paced the team with 16 points on 8-of-17 from the floor with eight rebounds in 35 minutes. The New Jersey native collected her 14th double-digit performance of the season while averaging a team-leading 13.2 points per game.

Freshman Laila Anderson finished with 14 points on 6-of-16 shots with four rebounds and two steals in 39 minutes, while junior Reagan Hune also registered 14 points on 7-of-11 attempts with three rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Teammate Haleigh Crews produced eight points and six rebounds in 32 minutes.

The Trojans went a perfect three-of-three from the field to start the game and established an 8-4 advantage. Southern Wesleyan answered with a 9-2 rally to take a 13-10 lead at the 4:38 mark before UMO scored six of the following eight points to regain the advantage, 16-15. Both sides went scoreless over the next two minutes crossing into the second quarter. The Warriors made four-of-six shots early in the quarter to retake the lead 24-22 before tallying six-straight points to stretch the advantage to 30-22. With 3:17 left, Mount Olive rallied with a 10-2 run on a perfect four-of-four shooting to go into halftime tied at 32-32.

In the third quarter, the Warriors found their offense rhythm with a 14-4 run, including four treys to build a 46-36 advantage. Hune halted the run with a layup before SWU closed the quarter by scoring seven of the final nine points to take a 53-40 lead into the fourth. The Trojans quickly trimmed the deficit with seven unanswered points to trail 53-47 with just over seven minutes left. Southern Wesleyan extended the advantage to double-digits with back-to-back three-pointers to 59-47 before both teams exchanged points over the final four-plus minutes.

The Trojans finished the game shooting 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the floor while converting just 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Warriors shot at a 48.1 clip (26-of-54) from the field and made 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from three-point range. Southern Wesleyan finished with a 38-27 rebounding advantage and produced 19 points off 22 turnovers forced, while Mount Olive tallied 42 points in the paint.

Senior Allie Newberry led all scorers with 19 points on 9-of-11 from the floor with four rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes. Junior Shelby Glance registered 13 points on 5-of-12 attempts while adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in 30 minutes. Sophomore Tristen Berry finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes on Saturday.

The Trojans return to league play on Wednesday, Jan. 25, when they travel to face UNC Pembroke on the road, starting at 5 p.m.