MOUNT OLIVE (Jan. 18) – Junior
Savannah McAfee scored a game-high 25 points and sophomore
Anna Miller recorded her first career double-double, as the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team captured a 69-63 victory over Southern Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas play.
With the win, the Trojans snap their losing streak and improve to 2-13 this season with a 1-9 mark in league action. Mount Olive has won 11 of the last 12 games in the series with SWU, including seven victories in Kornegay Arena. Meanwhile, the Warriors fall to 5-11 overall behind a 2-7 record in conference play.
McAfee led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting while converting seven-of-eight from the free-throw line. She added nine rebounds, two assists, one block, and two steals in 37 minutes on the court. Miller produced an elite performance with 12 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and four steals in 33 minutes. Freshman
Janna Tupuola reached double figures with 10 points while tallying five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 21 minutes off the bench. Junior
Alondra Arroyo finished with six points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and three steals in 32 minutes.
In the first quarter, the Trojans established a 4-0 edge in the initial two-plus minutes of the game before SWU countered with a 9-3 rally to take a 9-7 lead. UMO regained the advantage with a three-pointer by Miller before the Warriors surged ahead behind a trio of threes to lead by a 22-14 margin. Mount Olive rallied back by hitting 6-of-12 from the field to reclaim the lead 28-25 with 3:47 remaining. Southern Wesleyan responded with a 10-2 run to go in front 35-30 before UMO made four free-throw attempts to head into the break trailing by one point, 35-34.
The Warriors opened the third quarter with six straight points to extend the lead to 41-34, but the Trojans countered with nine answered points to pull ahead 43-41 with 4:34 left. After a layup tied the game with two-plus minutes remaining in the quarter, Mount Olive went on a 7-2 run to head into the fourth with a 50-45 advantage. SWU began the final quarter by trimming the deficit to 52-51 with 7:46 to go before UMO scored eight consecutive points to build a 60-51 edge. In the final three minutes, the Trojans converted 7-of-10 from the free-throw line to capture a 69-63 win.
The Trojans finished the game shooting 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor and converted 15-of-19 (78.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Warriors shot at a 30.1 clip (22-of-73) from the field and made 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from three-point range. Mount Olive held a 51-38 rebounding advantage with 28 points in the paint. Southern Wesleyan scored 28 points off the bench and 18 points off turnovers.
SWU senior Taylin Smith totaled 21 points on 6-of-13 attempts while adding four rebounds, one assist, and one block in 31 minutes. Fellow senior Asia Pearley contributed 17 points, eight rebounds, one steal, and one block in 24 minutes off the bench.
Mount Olive continues the season on Wednesday, Jan. 22, when it travels to face rival Barton in league play at 5 p.m.
