Mount Olive rolls past North Greenville

MOUNT OLIVE – After forcing 24 turnovers and limiting North Greenville to nine points in the first half, the University of Mount Olive women’s basketball team cruised to a 56-43 win in Conference Carolinas play on Jan. 28.

With the win, the Trojans improved to 11-11 this season with a 7-7 record in league action. UMO boasts a 9-3 mark at home this year and sits sixth in the conference standings with six games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Crusaders dropped their sixth straight game and fell to 4-15 overall with a 4-9 record in conference play.

UMO featured a balanced offensive effort, led by junior Laila Harris with 12 points on six of 12 shooting while adding three steals and one block in 27 minutes. Junior Reagan Hune finished with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes. Freshman Maleiya Hill also tallied nine points while recording four rebounds, five assists and five steals in 24 minutes. Teammate Laila Anderson registered eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in 33 minutes.

In the first quarter, the Trojans started the contest with five consecutive points and then opened a 10-5 lead. Over the next four minutes, Mount Olive mounted a 6-0 run on three of five shooting to extend the lead to 16-5 late in the first quarter. The Crusaders halted the run at the charity stripe before Hune hit a floating jump shot at the buzzer to give the Trojans an 18-7 advantage.

UMO scored 12 unanswered points over the initial five minutes of the second quarter to take a comfortable 30-7 lead. North Greenville registered its only points of the quarter on a layup at the 1:47 mark before Mount Olive totaled five straight points to take a 35-9 lead at halftime.

The Trojans continued their offensive dominance to begin the third with a 9-0 run, led by Hill with five points, to stretch the advantage to 44-9. The Crusaders found their rhythm at the midway point of the quarter with a 15-6 rally, including converting six of eight from the line, to close the gap to 50-24.

In the fourth, both teams exchanged points over the opening three-plus minutes with UMO leading 56-30. North Greenville finished strong despite the large deficit with a 13-0 run in the final five minutes, as the Trojans secured a 56-43 victory.

The Trojans finished the game shooting 42.4 percent (25 of 59) from the floor while converting three of 13 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Crusaders shot at a 30.4 percent clip (14 of 46) from the field and made 10 of 12 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line. Mount Olive finished with a 36-27 rebounding advantage and produced 29 points off 24 turnovers forced, while North Greenville tallied 14 points in the paint.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics