MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 24) – Despite featuring three individuals in double figures on Monday, night, the Trojans saw their efforts fall short in a 72-54 loss versus Barton in the final home game of the season at Kornegay Arena in Conference Carolinas play.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball program falls to 3-21 on the season with a 2-17 mark in league action. The Trojans will close out the 2024-25 season on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at UNC Pembroke with tip-off set for 5 p.m. Meanwhile, Barton snaps a five-game losing streak to improve to 12-15 on the season while boasting an 8-11 record in the conference play.
Sophomore
Anna Miller led the Trojans with 12 points behind a pair of three-pointers while pulling down five rebounds in 34 minutes. Fellow sophomore
Alondra Arroyo enjoyed an offensive outburst after finishing with 10 points on five-of-nine shooting while being limited to 20 minutes of play due to foul trouble. Freshman
Jerin Truesdale was the third member of the Trojans in double-digits as she scrapped her way to 10 points while adding seven rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Fellow freshman guard
Janna Tupuola added six points, four assists, and one rebound in 20 minutes of play.
Barton found themselves in a winnable game from the jump as they pounced on a slow offensive start by UMO, which gave the Bulldogs an early 23-9 advantage. The second quarter brought along a back-and-forth battle as the Trojans and Bulldogs exchanged points throughout the 10-minute segment. Barton saw a lead grow to 44-22 in its favor heading into the halftime.
The third quarter saw Mount Olive chip away at a 24-point deficit closing the gap to 16 points after a tough make in the paint by freshman guard
Ashley Browne. The start to the 4th quarter, junior
Savannah McAfee found her first field goal of the contest on a three-pointer from the right wing, this would make it a 13-point margin. Unfortunately, that is the closest the Trojans would get as they ended losing the contest, 72-54.
UMO shot at a 33.9 clip (20-of-59) from the floor while going 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Barton finished the game shooting 38.2 percent (26-of-68) and converted 14-of-20 (70.0 percent) from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs held a 51-32 rebounding advantage with 34 points in the paint, while the Trojans totaled 23 points off the bench.
Junior Jada Battle led the way in scoring for Barton as she produced 12 points on five-of-nine shooting including a pair of three-pointers and two rebounds in only 12 minutes of action. Graduate student Lauren Walker and junior Lauren Mingo each reached double-digit points with 10 on Monday evening.
Mount Olive will close out the 2024-25 campaign on Wednesday, Feb. 26, as it travels to UNC Pembroke for a Conference Carolinas East Divisional matchup, starting at 5 p.m.
