Vaughan, Richardson too much for Trojan women

Published in Sports on January 4, 2005 1:55 PM

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PEMBROKE -- Kristin Vaughan scored 19 points and UNC Pembroke shot 75 percent from the field in the second half to defeat Mount Olive 59-41 in non-conference women's basketball Monday.

Danielle Richardson added 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Braves, which became the first team this season to outrebound the Trojans.

Mount Olive (3-4) took an early five-point lead as Teneal Boone and Melanie Cobb combined for 10 of the Trojans' first 13 points. Mount Olive led 15-10 with 9:54 remaining in the half when a dry spell of more than nine minutes allowed UNC Pembroke (8-3) to build an eight-point lead.

Elaine Larson's three-pointer with seven seconds left ended Mount Olive's scoring drought and pulled the Trojans within 23-18 at halftime. The Trojans missed 13 consecutive field goal attempts before Larson's 3.

Mount Olive stayed within five points early in the second half until Richardson's jumper and a pair of free throws sparked a 7-0 run to extend UNC Pembroke's lead to 36-24 with 15:30 left in the game. The Trojans cut the deficit to single digits on three occasions, but after Boone's three-point play with 12:51 remaining pulled Mount Olive within 41-32, Richardson's jumper pushed UNCP's lead to double figures to stay.

The Braves built its biggest lead at 20 points with less than a minute remaining.

Boone shared game-high honors with a season-high 19 points on 9-for-18 shooting for the Trojans. She also pulled down eight rebounds to go with two blocked shots and two steals.

After committing a season-high 35 turnovers last Thursday against St. Augustine's, the Trojans committed a season-low 11 turnovers Monday. But the Trojans shot only 26.6 percent (17-for-64) from the field.

Despite the loss, Mount Olive held its opponent under 60 points for the fifth time in seven games this season. The Trojans are holding opponents to an average of 52.7 points per game so far this season.

Mount Olive resumes Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference play Thursday as the Trojans travel to Wilson to face rival Barton. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.