PRINCETON -  Mount Olive earned a 72–64 upset victory over Emmanuel (Ga.) on Saturday afternoon at Princeton High School, leading for more than 38 minutes of the contest.

The Trojans set the tone early, jumping out to a 24–18 lead after the first quarter and carrying a 42–33 advantage into halftime. Mount Olive shot efficiently in the opening half and forced Emmanuel into early turnovers, turning those miscues into points on the other end.

Kayla Jackson paced Mount Olive with a team-high 25 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the floor while adding six steals and five rebounds. Aniyah Vanhook and Jerin Truesdale each chipped in 10 points, while Savannah McAfee added 12 points and knocked down a pair of three-pointers. 

The Trojans also received a strong defensive effort, finishing with 12 steals and holding Emmanuel to just 18.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Emmanuel was led by Naomi Roberts, who poured in 34 points and grabbed four rebounds, accounting for more than half of the Lions' scoring. Natalee Goff and Kate Jackson added nine points apiece, but Emmanuel struggled to find consistency from long range, finishing 4-of-22 from three-point distance.

The Lions made a push in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to seven, but Mount Olive answered with timely baskets and maintained control down the stretch. The Trojans closed the game by shooting 50 percent in the fourth quarter to seal the eight-point win.

Mount Olive finished the afternoon shooting 47.5 percent from the field and held a 20–3 advantage in bench points, improving to 4–7 on the season, while Emmanuel fell to 9–4.

The Trojans go on the road to face Chowan in Murfreesboro for a 5 pm matchup, before returning home to face Erskine on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the newly renovated Kornegay Arena.