BANNER ELK, N.C. (Feb. 10) – With three players in double-figures on Saturday afternoon, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team rolled past Lees-McRae on the road by a 73-45 margin in Conference Carolinas action.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 7-14 this season with a 5-8 mark in conference play. Mount Olive earns a season sweep over Lees-McRae and collects its fifth straight victory in the series. Meanwhile, the Bobcats drop to 2-16 this season with a 1-12 record in league action.
Senior
Reagan Hune scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting while converting a perfect three-of-three from three-point range. She also added eight rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks in 29 minutes. Over the last three games, Hune is averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 66.7 percent (24-of-36) from the field.
Sophomore
Laila Anderson finished with 16 points on five-of-nine attempts in her return to the lineup. She also tallied one rebound, three assists, and one steal in 28 minutes on the court. Fellow sophomore
Jada Priebe posted her first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Junior
Kamania Griffin contributed four points, six rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 28 minutes.
The Trojans held an early 6-2 advantage following a pair of three-pointers in the initial minute of the contest before Lees-McRae scored five unanswered points to take a 7-6 lead at the 5:28 mark. After a three-plus minute scoreless drought, Mount Olive mounted a 7-2 run to close out the quarter with all seven points scored by Hune, 13-9. In the second quarter, UMO stretched the lead to 21-9 after converting three-of-three from the floor. The two sides traded points over the final eight minutes, including a three-pointer by Anderson in the final seconds to take a 33-21 advantage at the break.
In the third, the team exchanged points a majority of the quarter, as the Trojans maintained a 48-35 lead in the final minute. Mount Olive scored the final four points of the third to take a 52-35 advantage into the final 10 minutes of the game. After a made free-throw by Lees-McRae, UMO went on a 14-3 run on five-of-six shooting, led by Hune with eight points, to build a 66-39 lead with 6:27 left. The Trojans would hit three more shots in the closing minutes to seal a 73-45 win.
UMO shot at a 46.7 clip (28-of-60) from the floor while going 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Lees-McRae finished the game shooting 29.1 percent (16-of-55) and converted 12-of-24 (50.0 percent) from the charity stripe. The Trojans held a 46-35 rebounding advantage with 35 points off the bench, while the Bobcats registered 24 points in the paint.
Senior Emily Barr finished with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes. Freshman Kirsten Watt contributed 14 points while adding one rebound, four assists, and one steal in 33 minutes.
Mount Olive returns to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 14, when it travels to face Chowan in Conference Carolinas play at 5 p.m.
