Bulldogs use late surge to put away Trojans

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 22, 2010 1:46 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- It came in the blink of an eye and when it was over Mount Olive was left in a daze.

Barton scored 10 unanswered points in a little more than two minutes to break open a tied ballgame late in the second half and picked up a 62-49 Conference Carolinas win at Kornegay Arena on Thursday night.

The loss was the Trojans' fourth in their last six games.

Helen Moore's layup created a 43-43 tie before the Bulldogs answered with 10 straight points. Esty Flores' steal and layup gave Barton a 53-43 lead with five minutes to play.

Mount Olive never recovered. The Bulldogs went 9 for 11 from the free throw line over the last 21/2 minutes to put the game away.

"Defensively we picked our intensity back up and started making some better decisions offensively," said Barton head coach Wendee Saintsing.

The Bulldogs harassed Trojans ball-handlers, filled passing lanes and got a hand in the face of shooters all night. Mount Olive finished with 27 turnovers, attempted just four free throws and shot only 36 percent from the floor.

Shequanta McGee paced the Trojans with 19 points and Helen Moore added 17. Mount Olive didn't place another scorer in double digits.

"It was not a good day for us on the offensive end," said Trojans head coach Wendy Lee. "It was the defense and the pressure they created in our head from watching somebody else put a lot of pressure on them makes them not want the ball. I felt like our perimeter players were hiding.

"I don't think we ever felt comfortable and in control even when we tied the game up."

Barton used an 11-0 run fueled by defensive stops and Mount Olive turnovers to take a 17-12 lead midway through the first half. The Bulldogs forced 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

The Trojans (6-8, 5-4 CC) responded with an 11-4 spurt of their own and Andrea Jones' layup gave Mount Olive a 27-26 advantage with a little more than two minutes to play in the first half.

Jamila Johnson's layup gave Barton a 28-27 lead at the half. Janetta Robinson led the Bulldogs (9-5, 8-1) with 19 points. Four other Bulldogs scored in double figures.

The Trojans can snap their current two-game losing streak on Saturday when they visit conference opponent Lees-McRae.

"We're struggling for confidence and you can see it," said Lee. "I think we have a lot of promise it's just not happening at this point. We've got to build on the fact that our defense is keeping us in games and we've got to improve on the offensive end."