Posted: Jan 17, 2017
Tigerville, S.C. – The University of Mount Olive women's basketball team escaped a scare from North Greenville University with an 84-79 victory on Monday evening in Tigerville, S.C.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Mount Olive 84, North Greenville 79
Records: Mount Olive (12-3, 9-1 CC), North Greenville (4-10, 1-7 CC)
Location: Hayes Gymnasium, Tigerville, S.C.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST QUARTER
- Starting quickly, UMO jumped out to a 19-4 lead fueled by 11 points by senior Kiara Jones with just 5:16 gone by in the first period.
- The Trojans extended their leads to its largest point of the contest at 18 at 24-6 with just 2:54 left in the quarter.
- North Greenville responded with a 12-2 run to end the quarter to cut UMO's lead to just 26-18.
SECOND QUARTER
- A back-and-forth affair in the early stages of the second was broken as UMO increased its lead to 17 at 38-21 on a layup by freshman Makayla Nichols with 5:01 remaining on the clock in the half.
- NGU once again narrowed the Trojans' advantage with a late quarter run to trim the lead to 13 at 50-37 the half.
THIRD QUARTER
- The Trojans' lead dwindled throughout the third period as the Crusaders slowly chipped away to get with seven at 61-57 with eight seconds left in the quarter.
- Nichols stepped up once again, nailing a three as time expired to increase UMO's lead to 64-57 heading into the final frame.
FOURTH QUARTER
- UMO looked in control with just under five minutes remaining in the contest as senior Daria Simmons knocked down a free throw to increase the Trojans' lead to 75-67 with 4:39 left on the clock.
- The Crusaders whittled their deficit to just three at 75-72 with 3:40 left to play, but the Trojans responded with a 4-0 run to take a seven-point lead with just 1:26 remaining.
- Over the next 46 seconds, North Greenville forced a pair of turnovers and scored seven-straight points to tie the contest at 79 with just 40 seconds left.
- Showing maturity, Mount Olive stepped to the line and hit five of six free throws down the stretch while forcing two tough shots and a turnover to secure an 84-79 victory.
KEY STATS
- Fresh off being named Conference Carolinas Player of the week, Simmons poured in 28 points to lead UMO along with pulling down seven rebounds and grabbing four steals.
- Junior Felecity Havens continued to own the glass with a 20 point, 13 rebound outing.
- Also finishing in double figures were senior Kiara Jones with 16 points and Nichols with 13 points.
- UMO was outshot by an opponent for the first time since the Trojans loss to Limestone on January 6, as NGU shot 47.8% (33-69) to Mount Olive's 46.4% (26-56).
- The Trojans won the game at the free throw line where UMO went 29-45 (64.4%) to NGU's 9-18 (50%).
NOTABLES
- UMO's 12-3 start to the season is its best start since the 2012-13 campaign.
UP NEXT
Mount Olive returns home for Piggly Wiggly Blackout Night on Saturday afternoon as the Trojans host Pfeiffer at 2 p.m. in Kornegay Arena.