Corley breaks own assists record ... again

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on January 24, 2007 2:05 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- For the second time in 10 days, Keona Corley broke her own school single-game assists record, dishing out 15 assists to lead Mount Olive to a 72-62 victory over District of Columbia in non-conference NCAA Division II women's basketball Tuesday at Kornegay Arena. Helen Moore matched a career high with 24 points and hit a fast-break layup in the final minute to halt a UDC rally and give Corley her record-breaking assist.

Moore scored six consecutive points as Mount Olive (8-9) jumped out to an 8-0 lead four minutes into the game. District of Columbia (8-11) got as close as four points, but the Trojans built the lead to double digits after Jill Oaks' layup off of Brittney Robich's touch pass from Keona Corley's length of the court pass.

Mount Olive extended the lead to 28-13 with 3:52 remaining after three-pointers by Robich and Tomeka Prichard capped an 18-7 run. Nicole Cooper, who scored UDC's last seven points of the half, hit a three-pointer with 2:27 remaining to bring the Firebirds within 12. But Moore's basket with 37 seconds left closed out the first half scoring and Mount Olive led 35-21 at the break.

After Sierra Medeiros' basket on Mount Olive's first possession of the second half gave the Trojans a 16-point lead, Jennifer Jones scored four points during a 6-0 run to pull UDC within 10. But Robich answered with a three-pointer and Corley found Moore open underneath on consecutive possessions as Mount Olive built the lead to 55-33 with 11:28 left to play.

Mount Olive held an 18-point lead with less than five minutes remaining when a combination of Trojan turnovers and UDC second-chance opportunities helped the Firebirds get back in the game. Mount Olive turned the ball over on five consecutive possessions, while Tiffany Church's three-pointer and Sylvia Kemp's putback pulled UDC within 69-58 with 3:05 remaining.

After missing three consecutive opportunities to cut the Trojans' lead to single digits, Robin Williams converted an offensive rebound to cap a 9-0 run and pull the Firebirds within 69-60 with 53 seconds remaining. But Corley beat UDC's full court press with a pass across the half-court line to Moore, who hit the uncontested layup to seal the win and give Corley another record breaker.

Moore was 12-for-19 from the field as Mount Olive shot over 50 percent for the second consecutive game and third time in its last five games, shooting a season-high 57.7 percent (30-for-52). Prichard added 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Medeiros pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Trojans.

Corley, who played all 40 minutes, finished with 10 points along with three steals as she recorded her fourth double-double of the season. On January 13 against Erskine, Corley dished out 14 assists to break the previous record of 12, which she shared with Missy Joyner. Corley, who ranks fourth in the nation in assists and second in steal, now owns the fifth and sixth-highest single-game assists performances in the nation this season.

After the game, Corley deflected attention from her assists record and talked about the team's performance and following the instructions of Trojan head coach Wendy Lee.

"We are playing as a team now and getting our team chemistry together," said Corley. "Coach Lee has been trying to get us to do that all season."

Williams led four District of Columbia players in double figures with 20 points. Jennifer Jones added 13 points, while Cooper and Kemp added 10 points apiece. UDC outrebounded Mount Olive 38-35, with 22 rebounds coming from the offensive end. Kemp led the Firebirds with eight rebounds.

Mount Olive resumes Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference action Saturday as the Trojans travel to Gaffney, S.C., to take on Limestone. Mount Olive won the first meeting 72-53 in December at Kornegay Arena. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. District of Columbia plays host to Bloomsburg on Friday at 5 p.m.

"We're pleased with the win tonight, but we're not satisfied," said Lee. "We're heading into the second half of our conference season and teams are adjusting to what we're doing. There's no room to be satisfied."

-- Courtesy Mount Olive Sports Information