MOC women lose for first time

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on December 13, 2008 11:33 PM

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MOC Sports Information

RALEIGH - Tomeka Prichard led all scorers with 19 points, but it wasn't enough as Mount Olive suffered its first loss of the season, falling to St. Augustine's 78-70 in non-conference women's basketball Saturday.

The game was the Trojans' first road contest of the season.

Fouls and free throws proved to be the deciding factor as St. Augustine's went to the line more than twice as many times as the Trojans. Mount Olive was 18-for-23 (78.3 percent) from the line, compared to 29-for-49 for St. Augustine's. Five Trojan players fouled out of the game.

Mount Olive (4-1) overcame an early deficit as back-to-back baskets by Helen Moore gave the Trojans a 14-10 lead with 14:23 left in the first half.

St. Augustine's went back on top on LeKeisha White's jumper and the Falcons led the remainder of the game as Mount Olive was held to a single field goal the rest of the half. Brittany Parker hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 90 seconds for St. Augustine's as the Falcons led 34-28 at halftime.

In the second half, Mount Olive's defense keyed a pair of fast break baskets and Prichard scored eight points during a 10-4 Trojan run. Brittney Robich's steal led to a layup by Prichard, then Latara Wade's outlet pass off a defensive rebound set up Prichard for another fast break layup as Mount Olive pulled within 45-43 with 13:22 remaining.

That would be as close as the Trojans would get.

Parker hit a pair of free throws to stop Mount Olive's run and White's putback of a missed three-pointer gave the Falcons their first double-digit lead at 61-50 with 7:47 remaining. The lead grew to as many as 12 points and Mount Olive never got any closer than six points the rest of the way.

Moore finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for Mount Olive, while Robich added 10 points and four assists. Prichard shared game-high honors with five assists and also led all players with two blocked shots. After shooting only three free throws in the first half, the Trojans were 17-for-20 from the line in the second half.

White led five St. Augustine's players in double figures and recorded a double-double, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Falcons outrebounded the Trojans 51-43.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans travel to Newport News, Va., to take on Apprentice in a non-conference match-up. Tip-off is 4 p.m.