Mount Olive, N.C.- Jasmine Whitby scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half and Tomeka Prichard's layup with 92 seconds remaining put Mount Olive ahead to stay as the Trojans rallied from 14 points down in the final 10 minutes for a 75-70 win over Queens in Conference Carolinas women's basketball Monday afternoon at Kornegay Arena.
Mount Olive (11-3 overall, 7-2 Conference Carolinas) trailed by as many as seven points midway through the first half before Tomeka Prichard's three-pointer with 11:02 remaining brought the Trojans within 15-11. Queens (6-7, 5-3) pushed the lead up to six, but Prichard capped a 7-0 Trojan run with another three-pointer and Mount Olive took its first lead of the game at 20-19 with 5:40 left before halftime.
Queens regained the lead on Marissa Hudley's (Charlotte, N.C., Harding University ) putback and Erin Goldner (Matthews, N.C., Piedmont) followed with a three-pointer. After Mount Olive answered with a three-pointer by Shequanta McGee, Goldner keyed a Queens run, hitting both ends of a one-and-one and setting up a score with a steal in the backcourt. Ashley McGuirt's (Indian Trail, N.C., Providence Day) three-pointer with 52 seconds remaining finished a nine-point run and gave the Royals their first double-digit lead at 33-23.
McGee hit an off-balanced 12-foot jumper in the lane with 19 seconds to end the run. Prichard blocked a shot on Queens' final possession, but Mount Olive was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer and trailed 33-25 at halftime.
The Trojans have trailed at the half in each of their last three games.
Shakaria Hamlin's (Hartsville, S.C., Hartsville) basket on Queens' first possession of the second half put the margin back at double figures and the Royals built the lead to 44-31 after Hamlin's three-pointer with 16:37 left to play.
Mount Olive scored the next five points as Prichard's three-pointer made it a single-digit game again. But Jazmine Edmonds' (Manassas, Va., CD Hylton) layup pushed the margin back to 10 and Allison Williams' (Rougemont, N.C., Northern Durham) basket off of Hamlin's steal gave Queens its biggest lead of the game at 52-38 with 13:28 remaining.
The Trojans were still down 60-46 with 13:15 remaining when McGee ignited Mount Olive's comeback with a three-pointer. Whitby hit a pair of baskets and Prichard hit 2-of-3 free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt to pull the Trojans within 62-55 with 7:22 left to play.
Whitby continued Mount Olive's comeback from the free throw line, hitting 10-of-10 free throws during a four-minute span to bring the Trojans within 66-65 with 2:48 left. Prichard blocked a shot, got her own rebound and went the length of the length of the floor to put the Trojans on top 67-66 2:28 remaining.
Goldner's scoop shot off the left glass put Queens back on top with 1:49 left. But Mount Olive regained the lead for good on its next possession as Whitby found Prichard underneath. Queens turned the ball over on its next possession and Brittney Robich hit a three-pointer with 1:06 remaining to give the Trojans their first two-possession advantage of the game at 72-68.
The Royals closed within one score after Hamlin put back her own missed shot with 42 seconds remaining. But with the shot clock almost expired, Robich hit a running one-hander in the lane with 17 seconds remaining to extend the Trojans' lead to 74-70. McGee added a free throw after a defensive stop for the final margin, which would be Mount Olive's biggest lead of the game.
McGee finished with 13 points for the Trojans. Whitby was 13-for-16 from the free throw line for the game and Mount Olive was 17-for-20 as a team in the second half. The Trojans also shot 62.5 percent (15-for-24) from the field in the second half.
Goldner led Queens with 17 points, while Hudley added 14 points. Jessica Lewis (Hampton, Va., Bethel) narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and eight assists.
Mount Olive returns to action Thursday as the Trojans play host to Barton in a Conference Carolinas match-up. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. at Kornegay Arena. Queens travels to Laurinburg, N.C., Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to take on St. Andrews in Conference Carolinas action.
