UMO advances past North Greenville

MOUNT OLIVE – Freshman Laila Anderson and junior Reagan Hune combined for 55 points as the University of Mount Olive women’s basketball team advanced past North Greenville by a 72-69 margin in the second round of the Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Championship on Feb. 27 at Kornegay Arena.

With the win, the Trojans improved to 15-14 overall and move on to the championship site in Spartanburg, S.C. for the quarterfinals of the league tournament. Mount Olive is set to face UNC-Pembroke on Friday, March 3, at 1:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the Crusaders finished the year with an 8-20 record.

Anderson dropped a career-high 28 points on 8 of 16 shooting, including five of nine from three-point range. She also tallied five rebounds, two assists and two steals while playing all 40 minutes in her first collegiate postseason appearance. Anderson has recorded six 20-point performances this season and is averaging 16.6 points per game since entering the starting lineup in mid-January.

Hune also delivered a career-high 27 points on 13 of 23 shots while totaling seven rebounds, three assists and four steals in 38 minutes. Over the last six contests, she is averaging 20.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Freshman Maleiya Hill recorded an effective game with seven points, six assists, two steals and one rebound in 40 minutes.

Mount Olive jumped out to an early 12-2 lead in the opening three-plus minutes after shooting six of eight from the field with Hune tallying six points. The Crusaders responded by knocking down four of their next five shots to trim the deficit to 17-12 with 3:56 left in the first quarter. UMO countered by scoring seven of the final eight points of the first to hold a 24-13 advantage.

In the second quarter, North Greenville made a pair of shots to close the gap to 24-17 before the Trojans moved ahead 27-17. Mount Olive maintained a double-digit advantage over the majority of the quarter before NGU cut it to an eight-point game, 38-30, at the free-throw line. UMO answered by scoring five of seven points to go into halftime with a 43-32 lead.

In the second half, the Crusaders established a 14-4 rally over a seven-minute stretch to close the gap to 47-46 with 2:37 left in the third. During that stretch, the Trojans were forced into seven turnovers and failed to make a field goal. Hune halted the run with a jumper before Mount Olive held a 53-52 edge heading into the final quarter.

North Greenville grabbed the lead to begin the fourth before the Trojans mounted a 12-0 run with four players scoring to reclaim a double-digit lead, 65-54 with 5:23 left. The Crusaders stormed back with an 11-1 rally to trail 66-65 with under three minutes left. Hune hit back-to-back clutch jumpers before Anderson sealed the win at the free-throw line, 72-69.

UMO finished the contest shooting 45.9 percent (28 of 61) from the floor while converting 9 of 12 (75 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, North Greenville posted a 48.1 field goal percentage (26 of 54) and made 12 of 20 (60 percent) from the charity stripe. The Crusaders finished with a 33-27 rebounding advantage with 34 points in the paint, while the Trojans tallied 28 points off 22 forced turnovers.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics