Lady Trojans win second straight

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on January 22, 2006 2:20 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive freshman Tomeka Prichard dropped in a game-best and career-high 20 points as the Lady Trojans claimed a 73-61 win over Lees-McRae Saturday afternoon at Kornegay Arena.

Prichard, who has 35 points combined in the last two games, also pulled down eight boards and was one-of-five Mount Olive players in double figures in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference contest. Fellow freshman, Alisa Jones, added 16 points and posted a double-double with 10 rebounds.

Meghan Vanderhorst, also a freshman, added 12 points for Mount Olive as senior Teneal Boone (12 points, seven rebounds) and sophomore Keona Corley (11 points, eight assists, four steals) also had solid performances in the Lady Trojans' second-straight win.

"We're proud of all of our players. We've really stuck together," Mount Olive coach Wendy Lee said.

Mount Olive (9-6, 4-4) played consistent defense, holding Lees-McRae to just 38.5 percent shooting, and never trailed the CVAC contest. Still, the home team could never pull away from the Lady Bobcats due to stretches of offensive inconsistency.

Back-to-back put-backs by Jones and Boone put the Trojans ahead 54-46 with 7:50 left in the second half. Just as it looked as if Mount Olive was creating distance in the margin for good, Lees-McRae (6-8, 3-5) climbed back within four at 58-54 near the three-minute mark after two makes at the free-throw line by Stephanie Mullinax, who finished with 15 points.

From there, the Trojans gained control for good as Prichard knocked down two field goals, including her fourth and final 3-pointer, while Boone, Corley and Vanderhorst made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Despite several untimely turnovers in the second half, Mount Olive won the turnover battle by committing just 11 to Lees-McRae's 19.

The Lady Trojans finished with a 23-7 edge in turnover points. Mount Olive also outscored the Lady Bobcats' bench, 28-14 and won the points in the paint battle, 32-8. For the second straight game, the Trojans claimed the rebounding edge, this time out-boarding the visitors, 38-32. In the first half, the Trojans jumping out to a 10-2 lead out of the gate in the first five minutes with Prichard making two from behind the arc and scoring eight of those points. The Lady Bobcats answered with a 6-0 run, before the Trojans re-stretched the margin to 21-14 on an open-court assist from Vanderhorst to Jones.

Mount Olive went cold down the stretch of the first half, scoring just six points in the final seven minutes, as a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Lees-McRae's Laura Parker made it 27-24 at the break. The Trojans shot just 31 percent from the floor in the first, but bounced back to shoot 53 percent after halftime to finish at 41 percent overall.

"There were some periods in the game where we lost focus on offense," Lee said. "We've got to do a better job taking care of the ball."

Denise Wilson added a double-double for the Bobcats with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Taukia Hughes dropped in 12 points.

The Trojans return to CVAC action on Monday at Coker (S.C.) College.

LEES-MCRAE (6-9, 3-5)

Stephanie Mullinax 4 0 7-9 15, Taukia Hughes 2 2 2-2 12, Denise Wilson 5 0 5-5 15, Courtney Furr 1 1 0-1 5, Laura Parker 3 2 0-0 12, Brittany Robinson 0 0 2-2 2. TOTALS -- 15 5 16-19 61.

MOUNT OLIVE (9-6, 4-4)

Tomeka Prichard 4 4 0-1 20, Ebony Green 1 0 0-0 2, Teneal Boone 5 0 2-2 12, Keona Corley 3 0 5-6 11, Meaghan Vanderhorst 3 1 3-6 12, Alisa Jones 5 0 6-8 16. TOTALS -- 21 5 16-23 73.

Halftime MOC 27, L-M 24. 3-point goals -- L-M 5-12 (Dodgen 0-1, Hughes 2-3, Wilson 0-1, Furr 1-4, Parker 2-3), MOC 5-15 (Prichard 4-9, Rogers 0-3, Vanderhorst 1-3). Rebounds -- L-M 32 (Wilson 10), MOC 38 (Jones 10), Assists -- L-M 12 (Blevins 4), MOC 20 (Corley 8). Blocks -- L-M 2 (Wilson, Roberson), MOC 4 (Jones 3). Steals -- L-M 7 (Wilson 3), MOC 11 (Corley 4). Turnovers -- L-M 19, MOC 11. Total fouls -- L-M 15, MOC 16. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.