MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 1) – The shooting struggles continued for the Trojans on Saturday following a slow first-half start in a 73-51 loss versus King in Conference Carolinas play at the 43rd Annual Church Night in Kornegay Arena.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team drops to 3-15 overall and 2-11 record in conference play. The Tornado sweep the season series over the Trojans after claiming home-and-away victories over the Trojans. Meanwhile, King improves to 9-11 this season behind a 7-6 mark in league play.
Freshman
Jerin Truesdale led the team with 15 points on six-of-eight shooting with three rebounds in 22 minutes on the court. Junior
Jada Priebe finished with nine points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 23 minutes. Freshman
Janna Tupuola contributed nine points on four-of-eight attempts with three rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 34 minutes.
In the first quarter, the Trojans established an early 4-0 advantage in the opening two-plus minutes before King responded with a 10 unanswered while forcing four turnovers to hold a 10-4 edge at the 2:35 mark. UMO halted the run at the free-throw line, but the Tornado nailed a three-pointer to go ahead 13-5 following the initial 10 minutes of the game. King extended the lead to 22-6 to begin the second quarter before UMO scored five straight points to close the gap to 22-11 at the 5:09 mark. In the final four minutes of the quarter, the Tornado made five-of-seven from the field to take a 33-17 advantage into the break.
Sophomore
Anna Miller converted a layup in the initial 30 seconds of the third quarter, but King continued to extend its lead with a 10-2 run over a four-minute stretch. With the Tornado in front by a 43-21 margin, the Trojans converted four-of-seven shots in the final 4:28 to head into the final quarter trailing by a 49-30 margin. Mount Olive delivered a solid offensive performance in the fourth after hitting 8-of-15 from the field, led by Truesdale with nine points. Despite the strong fourth-quarter shooting, the Tornado pulled away with a 73-51 win.
UMO shot at a 38.5 clip (20-of-52) from the floor while going 7-of-10 (70.0 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, King finished the game shooting 52.7 percent (29-of-55) and converted 10-of-24 (35.7 percent) from the charity stripe. The Tornado held a 31-29 rebounding advantage with 40 points in the paint, while Mount Olive totaled 27 points off the bench.
King senior Mariya Williams recorded a team-high 16 points while adding nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block in 28 minutes. Senior Sarah Thompson and junior Le'Aija Ellington both had 12 points while sophomore Raven Addison reached double-figures with 10 points.
Mount Olive will be competing again on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in a divisional game against Chowan at 5:00 p.m. in Kornegay Arena.
