WILSON, N.C. (Jan. 23) – After posting a season-high .471 field-goal percentage, the Trojans claimed back-to-back Conference Carolinas victories after defeating rival Barton by a 61-47 margin on Thursday night.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team improves to 3-13 this season with a 2-9 mark in league action. The Trojans have won their last three road contests in Wilson with tonight being their largest margin of victory in that stretch. Meanwhile, Barton drops to 9-9 overall behind a 5-5 record in conference play.
Senior guard
Alexis Durham delivered a breakout performance with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with eight assists, five rebounds, and one steal in 39 minutes of the court. Fellow senior
Amber Nealy registered 10 points behind a trio of three-pointers while adding two rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes off the bench. Freshman
Janna Tupuola contributed eight points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 32 minutes. Fellow freshman
Jerin Truesdale totaled eight points, six rebounds, and two assists in 19 minutes.
In a low-scoring first quarter, Barton built an early 8-2 advantage in the opening seven-plus minutes of the game. The Trojans stormed back in the final minutes by scoring five of the final eight points to trail 11-7 at the end of the first. The Bulldogs climbed into a double-digit lead following a 10-3 run to hold a 21-10 advantage with 6:21 left. Durham responded with back-to-back three-pointers to close the gap, but Barton maintained its lead at 27-20 with 52 seconds to go. Sophomore
Kayana Cloud nailed a jumper in the final seconds to head into halftime trailing by a 27-22 margin.
In the third, the Trojans made five-of-eight from the floor to begin the quarter to cut the deficit to 34-33. Mount Olive eventually grabbed a 37-36 edge on a layup from Cloud before taking a 42-39 lead in the final quarter. UMO started the fourth with seven unanswered points from Truesdale to build a double-digit lead, 49-39. The Bulldogs halted the run with a layup before consecutive three-pointers by Nealy stretching the lead to 57-41 with 4:27 left. The Trojans pulled away in the final minutes to secure the 61-47 win.
UMO shot at a 47.1 clip (24-of-51) from the floor while going 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from the three-point range. Meanwhile, Barton finished the game shooting 32.0 percent (16-of-50) and converted 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Trojans held a 42-28 rebounding advantage with 32 points off the bench, while Barton totaled 10 fastbreak points.
Barton freshman Celeste Bailey tied a team-high with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting with three assists and one rebound in 34 minutes. Fellow freshman Leah Hampton tallied 14 points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 31 minutes.
The Trojans continue Conference Carolinas action on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Shorter with tip-off set for 2 p.m.
