FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Dec. 13) – Despite 30 combined points from sophomore Laila Anderson and senior Reagan Hune, the University of Mount Olive suffered a 70-57 loss at Nova Southeastern on Wednesday night in non-conference action.

With the loss, the Trojans drop to 3-5 this season with a 0-2 record on their Florida trip. UMO will return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 19, when it travels to face Elon in an exhibition game at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, the Sharks earned their third straight victory to improve to 5-3 overall with a 4-3 mark at home.

Anderson finished with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-10 attempts while converting three-of-four from beyond the arc. She also made five-of-six from the free-throw line while tallying two rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 35 minutes. In seven games played, Anderson is averaging 19.6 points per game while shooting 40.0 percent from three-point range.

Hune totaled 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, three steals, and two blocks in 34 minutes on the court. Senior Asia Smith delivered nine points on four-of-five shots with three rebounds in 24 minutes after battling foul trouble. Junior Alexis Durham recorded eight points and a pair of assists in 19 minutes.

In the first quarter, the Sharks made back-to-back layups to begin the contest before Durham responded with a three-pointer at the 8:31 mark. Smith eventually tied the game at 6-6 following a three-point play before the game was knotted two more times over the next two-plus minutes. Nova Southeastern mounted an 8-2 run to take a 19-13 advantage before junior Tiandria Tucker converted a layup in the closing seconds. Smith started the second quarter with a layup before the Sharks countered with another 8-2 run to stretch the lead to 27-19 with 4:35 remaining. The Trojans responded with seven unanswered points to close the gap to 27-26, but Nova Southeastern finished the quarter strong to hold a 35-28 lead in halftime.

Anderson scored the initial four points of the third quarter to trim the deficit to 35-32 before the Sharks countered with a trio of three-pointers to build the lead to 44-34 with 5:16 left. UMO responded with six straight points on a perfect three-of-three shooting to close the gap to 44-40 before Nova Southeastern finished the third quarter with an 8-0 run to hold a 52-40 advantage. The Trojans managed to cut the deficit to 58-50 with 6:09 left in the game before the sides exchanged points over the final five-plus minutes.

The Trojans finished the game shooting 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor and converted 9-of-10 (90.0 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Sharks shot at a 50.0 clip (25-of-50) from the field and made 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Mount Olive claimed a 27-23 edge in rebounding with 26 points in the paint, while Nova Southeastern totaled 29 points off 24 forced turnovers.

Graduate student Nicole Scales produced a team-high 15 points with four rebounds, four assists, and one block in 33 minutes. Redshirt sophomore Jess Moors tallied 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and seven steals in 25 minutes. Junior Aubrey Stupp and graduate student Madison Frederick also contributed 11 points, respectively.

Mount Olive returns to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 19, when it travels to face Elon in an exhibition contest, starting at 2 p.m.