Women's Basketball Falls To Limestone 68-52

Women's Basketball Falls To Limestone 68-52

University of Mount Olive rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the second half, but Limestone College used a 15-2 run to pull away to defeat the Trojans 68-52 in Conference Carolinas women's basketball Saturday at Gaffney, S.C. Jasmine McDonald led all players with 19 points and nine rebounds for the Trojans.

Mount Olive (15-10 overall, 10-7 Conference Carolinas) trailed by three at halftime and Limestone scored the first seven points of the second half to complete a 16-1 and take a 33-23 lead on Alicia Brookins' jumper with 18:08 left in the contest. Ty Wallace hit a jumper on Mount Olive's next possession for the Trojans' first field goal in more than six minutes of game time.

The Trojans pulled within 39-38 with 12:40 remaining after another basket by Wallace and a three-pointer by Kirksten Mitchell. Limestone built the lead to four, but McDonald had a putback on a missed shot and Anamaria Zjacic finished her own steal with a layup as the Trojans tied the game 42-42 with 10:51 left to play.

Limestone (20-5, 15-2) regained the lead for good on a basket by Brookins and a pair of free throws by Precilla Hill. McDonald's layup with 8:23 left pulled the Trojans within a field goal, but the Saints came back with 11 unanswered points to build a 57-44 advantage with 2:34 remaining.

Joneiqua Gary hit a pair of three-pointers for Mount Olive in the final minute, but the Trojans never got any closer than 11 points.

The Trojans trailed 10-2 seven minutes into the contest and went more than 10 minutes before reaching double figures. Wallace's steal led to Katie Paschal's fastbreak layup and McDonald's basket with 5:45 left before halftime tied the game 17-17.

Kirksten Mitchell put Mount Olive on top for the first time with a three-pointer and McDonald's short jumped capped a 9-0 run to give the Trojans a 22-17 advantage with 4:32 left. But Mount Olive would be held without a field goal for the remainder of the half.

Limestone ended the first half on a 9-1 run as Ayshia McNeil's basket with 44 seconds left gave the Saints a 26-23 halftime lead.

Limestone ended the first half on a 9-1 run as Ayshia McNeil's basket with 44 seconds left gave the Saints a 26-23 halftime lead.

Gary was Mount Olive's only other double-figure scorer, finishing with 11 points. Wallace pulled down eight rebounds as the Trojans outrebounded the Saints 43-41.

Brookins led four Limestone players in double figures with 15 points.

The loss was Mount Olive's third in a row - all on the road - after winning its previous seven games. Despite the loss, Mount Olive remains in a tie for third place in the conference standings and in contention to host a quarterfinal-round game in the 2014 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament next Saturday.

Mount Olive concludes regular season action Tuesday as the Trojans play host to Barton in a Conference Carolinas match-up. Mount Olive won the first meeting 69-62 January 30 at Barton. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.

Five Trojan seniors will be recognized prior to the game during Senior Night ceremonies: Joneiqua Gary, Andrea Jones, Jasmine McDonald, Kirksten Mitchell and Katie Paschal.