MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 11) – Freshman Jerin Trusdale registered her first collegiate double-double on Tuesday night, as the University of Mount Olive fell by a 95-64 margin against Francis Marion in Conference Carolinas play at Kornegay Arena.
With the loss, the Trojans fall to 3-18 this season with a 2-14 mark in league action. Mount Olive will return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 15 for Senior Day at Kornegay Arena versus Young Harris. Meanwhile, the Patriots improve to 18-5 overall behind a 13-3 record in conference play.
Trusdale finished with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting with 11 rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes off the bench. Sophomore
Anna Miller matched a career-high with 20 points, adding four rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and three steals in 37 minutes. Fellow freshman
Destiny Thompson contributed seven points, two rebounds, and one assist in 24 minutes off the bench.
Francis Marion raced out to a 20-point advantage in the opening seven minutes after converting 7-of-13 from the field, 22-2. The Trojans answered with eight straight points to cut into the deficit before FMU hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds, 24-10. In the opening moments of the second quarter, the Patriots extended the lead to 31-12 at the 7:42 mark. Mount Olive made five-of-six shots to trim the deficit to 36-22 with four minutes left. Francis Marion finished the quarter strong to head into the break with a 47-26 advantage.
In the third quarter, Francis Marion managed to open up its largest lead of the game at 70-32 with 4:45 remaining. Entering the final quarter, the Trojans trailed by a 78-43 margin after trading points over the final four-plus minutes of the third. Mount Olive began the fourth with a 12-0 run to close the gap to 78-55. FMU made seven of its final 10 shots to seal a 95-64 win.
The Trojans finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the floor and converted 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Patriots shot at a 48.5 clip (32-of-66) from the field and made 14-of-28 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc. Francis Marion held a 42-30 rebounding advantage with 31 fastbreak points. Mount Olive scored 38 points off the bench and 28 in the paint.
FMU senior Kiana Lee finished with 24 points behind five three-pointers while adding 11 rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes. Fellow senior Jada Richards tallied 17 points, one rebound, three assists, and a steal in 17 minutes. Redshirt junior Trinity Adams recorded 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 27 minutes.
Mount Olive will host Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 15, against Young Harris in Conference Carolinas play in Kornegay Arena, starting at 2 p.m.
