Vanderhorst buries some big outside shots
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 9, 2010 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Play through it.
Mount Olive failed to convert 12 consecutive possessions of the opening half and went nearly four minutes before putting anything on the scoreboard Monday evening.
Helen Moore stopped the drought with a layup off Laporsha Davis' assist.
Still, the Trojans missed the fire they needed.
Clinging to a one-point lead, Meaghan Vanderhorst jump-started the offense with back-to-back 3-pointers and Mount Olive chugged from there to a 77-53 victory over Coker (S.C.) College. The Trojans (12-9 overall) improved to 11-5 against Conference Carolinas opposition this season, and claimed a series sweep against the Cobras.
Vanderhorst shot 4 of 7 from behind the arc and picked Coker for a game-high five steals in 31 minutes.
"I think this time I wasn't actually trying to shoot, but letting it come to me," said Vanderhorst. "Everyone else was getting me hyped up and I think that kind of set it off."
Helen Moore just missed a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds for the Trojans, who improved to 15-10 against Coker since 1999. Davis added 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Vanderhorst's 3-pointers occurred off defensive miscues supplied by Mount Olive's 2-2-1 scheme. The scheme forced Coker to play a faster pace and commit 17 turnovers, which led to 15 points.
"We have to play defense first," said Vanderhorst. "Our offense starts with our defense a lot of times."
The Cobras (3-18, 2-14) climbed with 16-12 on Henna Kopenen's soft jumper from the baseline. Moore and Davis combined for the next 10 points, and the Trojans grabbed a double-digit lead that slowly expanded as the half progressed.
Vanderhorst drilled her third 3-pointer late in the opening half and added two more field goals in the second half.
"Early on, we didn't feel comfortable with ourselves," said MOC head coach Wendy Lee. "We were doing great on defense and we found ourselves open, but didn't really know what to do with the ball (on offense). It was a little concerning, but what I like about it is we never folded.
"We kept playing defense and getting stops. Then we started having people step up and hit shots like Meaghan."
Coker never threatened in the second half and lost its third consecutive meeting against MOC.