MOC women fall on road

Published in Sports on December 31, 2004 1:55 PM

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RALEIGH -- For the fourth time in six games, the Mount Olive College women's basketball team held its opponent under 60 points. But for the first time this season, it wasn't enough for a win.

Mount Olive overcame a scoring drought to cut a 10-point second-half deficit down to two, but a steal in the final seconds prevented the Trojans from getting off a potential game-tying shot as Mount Olive fell to St. Augustine's 50-48 in non-conference women's basketball Thursday at Raleigh.

The Trojans committed a season-high 35 turnovers and were held to two points during a span of more than 13 minutes.

Mount Olive (3-3) took a one-point lead three minutes into the game and led the rest of the first half, building the lead to as many as eight points. Shenetta Moye hit a pair of three-pointers and Latoria Harvey's putback sparked a 9-2 run that gave the Trojans a 24-16 lead with 8:01 left in the first half. But the Trojans would go scoreless for the next six minutes as St. Augustine's (7-3) pulled within 26-25 at halftime.

St. Augustine's had opportunities to regain the lead before halftime, but the Lady Falcons went 2-for-9 from the free throw line in the first half. Mount Olive was 4-for-8 from the line in the half.

Mount Olive went scoreless more than five minutes into the second half and Valicia Brown's three-pointer capped a 20-2 scoring run to give St. Augustine's a 36-26 lead with 14:48 remaining. Sierra Medeiros, who scored Mount Olive's only two points during the St. Augustine's run, ended the Trojans' drought with a pair of baskets underneath and Teneal Boone added a layup on a dish by Leann Simms as Mount Olive got its inside going and cut the lead to four.

St. Augustine's built the lead back to eight, but the Trojans responded with six unanswered points on a putback by Simms and layups by Moye and Heidi Busch off assists from Keona Corley to pull within 44-42 with 7:57 remaining. Mount Olive held St. Augustine's without a field goal for more than seven minutes but wasn't able to capitalize as the Lady Falcons used the free throw line to build the lead to 49-44 with 3:17 remaining.

With Mount Olive trailing by four, Moye just barely beat the shot clock with a 17-footer to pull the Trojans within 50-48 with exactly two minutes remaining. Those would be the final points of the game, but not for lack of opportunities for both teams.

St. Augustine's, which hit six of its first eight free throws of the second half, went 2-for-7 down the stretch and missed two front ends of one-and-ones in the final 90 seconds. St. Augustine's hit 8-of-15 free throws in the second half, while Mount Olive missed on its only free throw attempt in the second half.

The Trojans had one last chance to tie or win the game after St. Augustine's missed a free throw with 10 seconds remaining, but Ernesta Green made a steal before Mount Olive could get a final shot off.

Moye led Mount Olive with 12 points, while four Trojans scored six points apiece. Brown led all scorers with 17 points. Mount Olive outrebounded St. Augustine's 37-32, marking the sixth time in as many games this season the Trojans outrebounded their opponent.

Mount Olive returns to action Monday as the Trojans open 2005 on the road at UNC Pembroke for a non-conference match-up. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Pembroke.