MOC drops Fayetteville St. women

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on December 20, 2011 1:49 PM

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MOC Sports Information

FAYETTEVILLE -- Alyssa Luebs, Tamara Nesmith and Andrea Jones scored on consecutive layups, and Mount Olive College limited Fayetteville State to one basket in the final five-plus minutes of a 57-54, non-conference road win Monday evening.

The Trojan women (5-3 overall) finished 4-2 against Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association competition this season, and conclude the 2011 portion of their schedule at home Dec. 30 against Division III Newport News Apprentice. Tip-off is 6 p.m. inside Kornegay Arena.

MOC built a 20-point cushion as the Trojans forced Fayetteville State (6-3) into 19 first-half turnovers. After intermission, the tables were turned.

The Broncos opened the second half with a 28-9 run that erased a 17-point halftime deficit. SheQuitia Manning's tip-in with 6:53 remaining gave Fayetteville State its first lead since the game's opening minutes.

The teams traded leads twice before Mount Olive came alive.

Luebs, Nesmith and Jones each scored following Bronco turnovers to give their team a lead it never relinquished.

With 1:08 remaining, Tashana Banner made things interesting with a jumper that cut the Mount Olive lead back to 56-54, but Fayetteville State did not score again.

Jones' steal with 41 seconds left denied one Bronco opportunity. Joneiqua Webb made a free throw with 10 seconds left to extend the margin to three. Akysia Resper had a chance to send the contest into overtime but her three-point attempt was off-target. After Banner's layup, Fayetteville State missed its last four attempts from the floor.

Tamara Nesmith delivered her second double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. She also had four assists and three steals to lead the Trojans. Jones and Mitchell added 11 points apiece, while Luebs grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.