MOCwomen top Chowan 75-48

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on November 20, 2008 1:46 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Complete team efforts are expected at midseason.

Two games into the season they are a high-price commodity.

The Trojans placed three different players double figures, forced 30 turnovers and shot 53.3 percent beyond the 3-point arc during their 75-48, non-conference victory over Chowan on Wednesday evening at Kornegay Arena.

Senior Brittney Robich finished with a game-high 16 points and was 4 for 6 from 3-point range. Robich knocked down a 3 early in the ballgame which was part of Mount Olive's 14-5 run to open the first half.

"Basically, how I'm going to play in a game has a lot to do with whether or not I make my first shot," said Robich. "That first 3 gave me a lot of confidence."

The Hawks (0-3 overall) pulled to within 20-14 on Acquanette Simmons' jumper before the Trojans (2-0) closed the half on 12-5 spurt that stretched the margin to 32-19.

Robich turned in a pair of highlight-reel passes in the second half. After Robich knocked down a 3 to extend Mount Olive's lead to 45-27, Shequanta McGee tipped a Chowan pass to Robich, who lobbed a two-handed over-the-head pass to Tomeka Prichard. Prichard finished with a layup at the other end.

"I really didn't think anybody from the other team was back with Tomeka," said Robich. "I thought she was by herself. I guess I got lucky."

Robich added a no-look pass to Helen Moore for a layup and finished with five assists. Junior forward Jasmine Whitby contributed 11 points and Prichard added 10. Forward Helen Moore chipped in nine points and McGee along with fellow guards LaPorsha Davis and LaTara Wade each had six.

"It's really encouraging to see the type of team play we've got going on," said head coach Wendy Lee. "We're sharing the basketball. Players like LaPorsha and Brittney gave us a big lift on both ends. They didn't just score, they played on defense as well."

The Trojans ratcheted up the defensive intensity from the opening tip and turned Chowan's turnovers into 20 points.

"We had a lot of intensity on defense," said Lee. "We wanted to create the same type of pressure in the second half that we had in the first which is sometimes kind of hard to do. I feel like we were able to get the type of numbers in the second half that we were able to force in the first.

"Anytime we're creating turnovers and forcing them out of their offense we're going to be better on our offensive end." said Lee.

Mount Olive entertains St. Andrews at 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday in the Conference Carolinas opener for both teams.