MOC - Queen's womens game

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 27, 2011 1:47 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Andrea Jones hears plenty of criticism about her defensive effort each time she steps onto the basketball court.

She earned a little credit Tuesday evening.

Jones' layup off a steal and two free throws in the final 25.3 seconds lifted Mount Olive College to a come-from-behind, 68-66 victory over in-state rival Queens University of Charlotte. The Trojans snapped a three-game skid against the Royals and remained unbeaten in six home Conference Carolinas outings this season.

"A strange occurrence," said MOC head coach Wendy Lee.

Indeed.

Dyonna Battle's two free throws gave Queens a 66-62 advantage with 36.8 seconds left in regulation. Trojans point guard Shequanta McGee drove to the basket and kissed a shot off the glass, which closed the gap to 66-64.

On the inbounds pass, Battle dribbled the ball off her foot, Jones grabbed the loose ball and knocked down the game-tying basket.

"I cannot believe I got that steal," said Jones. "Coach always gets on me about my defense."

Queens pushed the ball upcourt and Marissa Hudley drove into the lane. She kicked the ball out and the Royals missed a jumper from the baseline with 12 seconds to go. A scrum ensued and Jones broke from the pack with the ball.

Battle fouled Jones with 2.5 seconds to go.

"I guess she thought we had a foul to give," said first-year Queens head coach Cheryl Nix.

Jones drained both free throws and the Royals missed a halfcourt shot as the buzzer sounded. Jones emerged MOC's leading scorer for the second straight game with 22 points.

"All I could think about is this is what I'm here for, to make free throws," said Jones. "I make these shots all the time in practice. I just had to take the shots and put them down.

"I wasn't nervous."

Lee certainly was.

Mount Olive (11-4 overall, 8-1 CC) built seven-point leads in the first and second half, but could never deliver the knockout punch. The Royals answered with quick runs after holding the Trojans to one shot on numerous occasions.

Hudley, who led all scorers with 24 points, became an unstoppable force in the second half. The 5-foot-8 senior guard converted two conventional three-point plays during an 8-0 run which gave Queens its biggest lead of the game, 57-51.

Hudley hit 9 of 11 shots from the floor and shot 6 of 6 from the free throw line. She pulled down 12 rebounds, including nine on the defensive glass.

"She's just tough to stop," said Lee.

The teams traded baskets during the final 2-plus minutes of the game. The Trojans outscored the Royals 8-2 in the final 60 seconds to keep their perfect home record intact.