Catawba women upend MOC
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 21, 2010 1:51 AM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Anyone a chemist?
Mount Olive really needs some chemistry fluidity on offense right now.
And the Trojans need a calming presence in the backcourt to help keep the Trojans poised on the offensive end of the floor.
Redshirt senior Jasmine Whitby tossed in a team-high 21 points, but received little assistance in a 71-61, non-conference loss against Catawba on Saturday afternoon at Kornegay Arena.
Senior guard Laporsha Davis added 11 points, including two baskets when the outcome had been decided. The Trojans' next highest-scorer was reserve Jasmine McDonald, who tallied six points.
"We struggled pretty much throughout the game, except for Jasmine Whitby, to get offense and to get points," said MOC head coach Wendy Lee. "That's our biggest problem right now, getting some other people to step up and knock down buckets besides Jasmine. I think we've got those players, but we're dealing with other little things that's putting us further behind."
Andrea Jones remains out indefinitely with a sprained ankle. Point guard Shequanta McGee continues to recover from a freak, preseason accident. Brittany Miller played despite missing the last three days of practice.
In preseason and last week's season opener at Chowan, Lee has employed four different players at point guard -- McGee, Davis, Paquita Wingate and Destinee Webb.
"I really think the fluidity on offense will come," said Lee. "It's just unfortunate that it wasn't today. We just haven't gotten the group to gel yet."
Mount Olive (1-1 overall) claimed an 8-4 lead early in the opening half on Whitby's 3-pointer. The Indians (2-2) seized momentum with a 15-7 run and maintained a two-possession advantage.
The Trojans climbed within 33-30 and got the ball back when Davis drew a charge underneath the Catawba basket. MOC failed to score and the Indians' Kisha Long buried a 3-pointer from the right corner.
The teams toiled through a sloppily-played first five minutes of the second half. Mount Olive stayed within striking distance, but succumbed to 25 percent shooting (7 of 28) from the floor and allowed Catawba to control the boards.
"We played against a really good team, a group of veterans with experienced players who are especially good on the offensive end," said Lee. "It was an opportunity for us to play a good team early, and see where we are and where we're not."
Dana Hicks pumped in 25 points for Catawba.