ELON, N.C. (Dec. 19) – Sophomore Laila Anderson finished with a game-high 18 points on Tuesday afternoon, as the Trojans fell by a 65-39 margin versus Division I Elon in an exhibition contest at the Schar Center.

With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team remains at 3-5 overall and finishes with a 1-1 record against Division I opponents this season. Mount Olive will play their final non-conference game on Dec. 30 at USC Aiken before entering conference play for the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, Elon improves to 3-9 this season and snaps a five-game losing streak in its first win at home.

Anderson finished with 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting while converting four-of-nine from beyond the arc. She also added two rebounds, two assists, and three steals in 39 minutes. Sophomore Kayla Jackson tallied six points behind a pair of three-pointers while contributing two rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 11 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Jada Priebe finished with two points, five rebounds, one block, and one steal in 26 minutes off the bench.

The Phoenix scored the initial nine points of the game behind four-of-eight shooting before Anderson hit a three-pointer to end the scoreless drought, 9-3. After nearly five minutes without a point, Elon scored the final seven points of the first quarter to hold a 16-3 advantage. Anderson made a three-pointer in the opening minute of the second quarter before Elon scored four of the following six points to remain ahead by a 20-8 margin with 8:04 left. After four-plus minute scoreless drought, the sides traded baskets for the closing two minutes as the Trojans trailed 26-12 at the break.

In the third quarter, Elon stretched the lead to 34-14 with an 8-2 run before the Trojans trimmed the deficit to 36-18 with a three by Anderson. The teams exchanged points over the final five-plus minutes with the Phoenix ahead 48-26 heading into the final 10 minutes of the contest. After consecutive baskets by Elon, UMO responded with eight unanswered points to cut the deficit to 52-34 with 6:08 left. Over the final minutes, Elon mounted a 13-5 run to seal the win, 65-39.

UMO finished the contest shooting 27.3 percent (15-of-55) from the floor while converting 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Elon posted a .397 field goal percentage (25-of-63) and made 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) from free-throw line. The Phoenix recorded a significant 56-27 rebounding advantage with 18 second-chance points, while the Trojans registered 10 points off 18 forced turnovers.

Junior Iycez Adams produced 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 25 minutes. Senior Ajia James finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 27 minutes, while freshman Maraja Pass contributed 10 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in 32 minutes.

The Trojans will head onto winter break for nearly two weeks before returning to the court on Saturday, Dec. 30, at USC Aiken for non-conference play, starting at 1:30 p.m.