Robich spearheads MOC's second-half effort

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on February 11, 2007 2:05 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Brittney Robich scored all of her 17 points in the second half and Mount Olive College rallied from an early 13-point deficit to defeat Lees-McRae 63-52 in a Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference women's basketball contest Saturday afternoon at Kornegay Arena.

The Trojans held the Bobcats to two points during a nine-minute stretch over both halves to spark the comeback.

Held scoreless in the opening half, Robich hit a layup 30 seconds into the second half to cut Lees-McRae's halftime lead to 24-21. The Bobcats extended their advantage to seven on two Diana Jones free throws and Renee Roberson's offensive putback.

Mount Olive (12-11 overall, 8-8 CVAC) answered with a 13-3 run as Sierra Medeiros and red-shirt freshman Helen Moore combined for eight points. Tomeka Prichard's 3-pointer pushed the Trojans ahead 36-33 with 12:02 left in the game.

It was the Trojans' first lead since early in the first half.

Courtney Furr's 3-pointer sparked a 6-0 run for Lees-McRae. Mount Olive answered with a 10-0 run as Jill Oaks' offensive putback put the Trojans ahead to stay. Lees-McRae (7-14, 5-9) got as close as seven points, but Robich hit three consecutive 3-pointers in a 90-second span.

Mount Olive led 57-43 with 3:08 to go.

Lees-McRae climbed within seven on Whitney Dodgen's 3-pointer. Prichard and Moore each hit two free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Moore finished with 14 points, while Medeiros added 10 points and eight rebounds. Point guard Keona Corley, who ranks third in the nation in assists and steals, recorded six assists and three steals. The 5-foot-5 junior pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for Mount Olive, which owned a 48-31 advantage on the glass.

Jones led Lees-McRae with a game-high 21 points, including a 9 of 10 showing at the free throw line. Stephanie Mullinax contributed 10 points.

Mount Olive claimed an early three-point lead, but Lees-McRae took control with a 16-0 run. The Trojans shot a miserable 7 of 31 in the opening half, but connected on 47 percent of its field goals in the second half.

Prichard's putback ignited a 5-0 spurt which pulled the Trojans within 24-18 at halftime.

With the win, Mount Olive remained in sole possession of fifth place in the league with four games remaining. The top five teams receive first-round byes for the CVAC tournament, which tips off Feb. 26.

The Trojans travel to archrival Barton on Monday, while Lees-McRae is the guest of in-state rival Queens University of Charlotte. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. starts.