MOC-Virginia Union women

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 9, 2013 2:35 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive College handled the in-game adjustments with poise, and its backcourt tandem of Jasmine McDonald and Joneiqua Gary each turned in a record-setting performance Sunday afternoon.

McDonald recorded just the third triple-double in Trojan women's basketball history and Gary pumped in a career-high 32 points during a 91-83, non-conference triumph over Virginia Union at Kornegay Arena.

One of three seniors in the starting lineup, McDonald provided 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. It was the first triple-double for an MOC women's player since Trojan alum Helen Moore accomplished the feat against Lees-McRae on Feb. 20, 2010.

"I had no idea (about the triple-double), but one of my teammates said something, and a couple of fans mentioned something," a modest McDonald said. "I never think about statistics. I just want to win and do what I can to help us win."

Mount Olive (5-2 overall) defeated a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association school for the third time this season, and 29th time overall in 51 tries since 1985.

The Trojans are 3-2 against Virginia Union.

"I am so happy about Jo and J-Mac's effort tonight ... an unbelievable performance from both of them," Mount Olive head coach Wendy Lee said. "If they hadn't have dug down and gave us everything they had, I don't think we would have won the game. I really don't. They just give you everything they've got.

"They step up time and time again."

Virginia Union's backcourt tandem of Melyse Brown and Ashle Freeman caused trouble of their own. The duo combined for 51 points on 17 of 36 shooting from the floor.

Freeman buried four 3-pointers in the opening half, and sparked the Panthers' transition offense along with Brown during the first five minutes of the second half.

MOC saw its 11-point halftime lead dwindle to two points, 48-46, on a pair of Freeman free throws with 16:05 to go in the game. Shy'lia Buie's offensive putback and Gary's jumper boosted the advantage to 52-46.

The Panthers (2-5) stayed within striking distance until the Trojans reeled off 13 straight points within a four-minute span. McDonald, Gary and Wallace combined for 10 points.

The lead swelled to 74-56 on Kirksten Mitchell's traditional three-point play.

Virginia Union closed to within 80-75 after Freeman converted a turnover into an old-fashioned three-point play at the two-minute mark. The Trojans did just enough offensively to seal the win in the final 96 seconds.

"To me, they were a hard team to play against because they're good in a lot of different ways ... a really difficult matchup," said Lee, whose team made constant in-game adjustments against the Panthers' on the perimeter, in transition offense and on the boards.

"We were able to withstand the surges that they threw at us, focus on something different every time they made a run. I was really happy with how we responded to each change."