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March 28, 2024 12:46 pm

UMO loses at Emmanuel

FRANKLIN SPRING, Ga. – The Trojans were outscored by 20 points in the second half in a 73-56 loss against Emmanuel on the road in Conference Carolinas play on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women’s basketball team dropped to 9-8 overall with a 5-4 mark in conference action. The two teams split the season series after the initial contest on Dec. 14 went to double overtime. Meanwhile, Emmanuel stretched its winning streak to four straight and improved to 7-5 this season with a 6-2 record in league play.

Freshman Laila Anderson led the team in scoring with 13 points on six of 12 from the floor in 26 minutes. The Burlington School product has been a spark off the bench this season with nine games in double figures and continues to rank second on the team in scoring.

Junior Reagan Hune finished with 10 points on five of nine shooting with four rebounds and one steal in 29 minutes. Freshman Maleiya Hill registered nine points on four of 10 attempts, while junior Haleigh Crews posted seven points, three rebounds, one steal and one block in 32 minutes.

In the first quarter, Crews converted a three-pointer at the 8:49 mark to give UMO an advantage before the Lions answered with five unanswered points to take a 5-3 lead. The game would be tied five times over the next five-plus minutes before freshman Dominique Pacheco hit a floating jump shot to give Mount Olive a 15-13 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Trojans opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run, led by Anderson with six points, to extend the advantage to 25-13 with 7:32 left. Emmanuel countered with a three-pointer as part of a 7-2 rally to trim the deficit to 27-20. UMO stretched the lead to double figures with more than three minutes to go, but the Lions closed the half with a 10-3 run and the Trojans held a 34-31 lead at the break.

The Lions wasted little time in the third quarter, tying the game at 39 at the 7:07 mark before mounting an 11-2 run to gain a 50-41 advantage. Hune answered with a jumper with under three minutes left before Emmanuel made the only shot over the last two minutes to hold a 52-43 lead at the end of the third.

The Lions scored six of the initial eight points of the fourth quarter to extend the advantage to 58-45 with 6:42 remaining. Mount Olive made its next three shots to close the gap to single digits, 60-51, but Emmanuel responded with a three-pointer to lead 63-51. The Lions converted a perfect eight of eight from the free-throw line to secure the 73-56 win.

Mount Olive finished the game shooting 39.4 percent (26 of 66) from the floor while converting three of 11 (27.3 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Lions shot at a 48 percent clip (24 of 50) from the field and made 22 of 26 (84.6 percent) from the free-throw line. Emmanuel finished with a significant 43-18 rebounding advantage and scored 32 points in the paint, while UMO tallied 25 points off the bench.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics