MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 28) – Despite an 18-point performance from senior
Reagan Hune on Wednesday night, the Trojans were unable to halt a second-half surge from Barton in a 71-57 loss at Kornegay Arena in Conference Carolinas action.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team falls to 8-18 overall behind a 6-12 record in conference play. The Trojans will enter the league tournament as the No. 11 seed and travel to the campus of Emmanuel to face No. 8 seed North Greenville for a chance to advance to the second round to meet the No. 5 Lions. Meanwhile, Barton snaps a six-game skid to improve to 8-19 this season with a 7-11 mark in league action.
Hune produced a team-high 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds and one assist in 37 minutes. Junior
Dominique Pacheco finished with 11 points, two rebounds, five assists, and four steals in 28 minutes off the bench. Sophomore
Laila Anderson contributed nine points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 29 minutes.
Barton registered an early 12-6 advantage in the first quarter on five-of-eight shooting in the initial four-plus minutes of the contest. The Trojans answered back with a 10-4 rally after four different players scored to tie the contest at 16-16 with 2:06 left in the first. The Bulldogs scored six of the final eight points to hold a 22-18 edge. In a low-scoring second quarter, UMO tied the game twice over the span of eight minutes before Barton scored eight unanswered points to take a 34-26 lead. Junior
Alexis Durham hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to close the gap to 34-29 at the break.
With Barton maintaining a 40-33 advantage at the 6:29 mark in the third, Hune tallied six consecutive points to trim the deficit to 40-39. The two sides traded baskets down the stretch of the quarter before the Bulldogs produced a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 52-43 heading into the fourth. Both teams hit a three-pointer to start the quarter, but Barton mounted a 10-2 rally to take a significant 65-48 lead with under five minutes to go. The Trojans made one last push by scoring seven of the following nine points, but Barton went on to secure the win, 71-57.
UMO finished the contest shooting 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the floor while converting 6-of-20 (30.0 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Barton posted a .490 field goal percentage (24-of-49) and made 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs recorded a 39-29 rebounding advantage with 36 points in the paint, while the Trojans scored 23 points off 20 forced turnovers.
Freshman Nyla Powell scored a game-high 23 points while adding 10 rebounds, one steal, and one block in 32 minutes. Senior Lauren Walker posted a double-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks in 38 minutes. Sophomore Lauren Mingo finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals in 32 minutes.
The Trojans return to the court on Sunday, March 3, when they face North Greenville in a first-round of the Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Championship in Georgia.
