Guards lead Lady Trojans to victory
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 14, 2010 1:51 AM
MOUNT OLIVE -- This game belonged to the guards.
Nearly absent in a road loss at Barton College just two days ago, Mount Olive's backcourt took charge Saturday afternoon. Shequanta McGee and Laporsha Davis collected 17 points apiece in an 83-72 victory over Carolinas opponent Erskine (S.C.) College inside Kornegay Arena.
Freshman guard Andrea Jones contributed 15 points for the Trojans, who won for the fourth time in their last five outings. Helen Moore posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards, while Brittany Miller registered 10 points and 11 rebounds.
McGee handed out eight assists.
"In the Barton loss where our perimeter people struggled, I was really pleased to see them step up tonight and be able to contribute on the offensive end like they did," said MOC head coach Wendy Lee. "I need to watch tape, but somehow we didn't get the ball to our post players like we needed to tonight, so they didn't get enough touches."
"The guards were a little more comfortable with the ball in their hands and we were able to get something on the floor because we had been hesitant with the ball."
The perimeter players shouldered the workload, especially when Erskine made its final run. The Flying Fleet (8-13 overall, 7-10 CC) shaved a seven-point deficit to 57-56 with 12-plus minutes left in regulation.
The Trojans answered.
Jones' free throw and McGee's traditional three-point play extended MOC's advantage to 63-58. Jones, Moore and Miller kept the run going with either key baskets or free throws as the Trojans pushed in front 71-62.
"We got refocused, Brittany got some big rebounds, we got a couple of good (defensive) stops and we tried to play possessions ... not the clock or the score," said Lee. "We wanted to win each possession ... either a stop (on defense) or good look on the offensive end."
Erskine pulled within 73-65 on Audrey Timmerman's 3-pointer, but could get no closer. Timmerman finished with 19 points, including 15 from behind the arc. The Flying Fleet converted 8 of 30 shots from 3-point range.
"They hit some big threes," said Lee.
Mount Olive scored 12 of the game's final 20 points and swept the regular-season series for the third time in the past four years.