MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - The University of Mount Olive women's basketball team earned a first-round home game in the 2019 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship Tournament beginning on Monday, March 4, with the quarterfinal contests.
UMO after finishing the regular season 16-10, 12-8, earned the No. 4 seed heading into the tournament and will play host to the No. 5 Bobcats of Lees-McRae College. The Trojans under the leadership of head coach Wendy Lee have posted their third .500+ season in the last four years.
The Mount Olive women's team has the Conference Carolinas regular season points champion in Felecity Havens, who has led the team this season as the lone senior. Havens is joined on the court by junior Hope Toliver, Makayla Nichols, and Jada Bacchus, who have all seen spots in the starting five rotation this season. Bacchus leads the team in rebounds with 248 and blocks with 19 to her credit this year, while Nichols is the conference regular season champion in free throw shooting percentage, 88.25, after connecting on 60 of 68 free throw attempts this season.
Freshman Azariah Fields has made a mark this season also earning a starting spot for much of the 2018-19 season. The Wilmington, N.C., native has 86 rebounds, 43 assists (second on the team), 31 steals, and five blocks to go along with her 233 points.
Sophomores Kelly Post and Zarya Poulava, freshman Leah Williams, and junior Kennedi Jones have provided key minutes for the Trojans coming off the bench, while also earning some starting time throughout the season. Post and Williams provide a spark of energy and defense when substituting in for Nichols, Bacchus, Fields or Havens. Post has a third-best 98 rebounds, 46 steals, and 38 assists to her credit this season. Poulava and Jones have been in the rotation this season in the post/center role providing size under the basket for the Trojans. In conjunction with Toliver, the trio have tallied 166 collective points and 153 rebounds in the post position.
Mount Olive will host a tough Lees-McRae Bobcats team that went 14-14 overall and 10-10 in conference action. LMC is led by senior Brea Forbes who has tallied 415 points while Markia Stacey is close behind with 369 points. Meg Crawford (238) and Destiny Johnson (207) are also scoring threats for the Trojans to try and contain.
In the two match-ups earlier in the season the Trojans defeated the Bobcats both times, 77-72 on Jan. 10 at Banner Elk, N.C., and 70-65 on Jan. 19 at Kornegay Arena.
To read the conference breakdown of all the quarterfinal games and the outlook on semifinals and championship information click here.