UMO's Harris has career outing against Converse (S.C.) College

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 5, 2015 11:37 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Ni'Ya Styles drew the defender.

Shy'Lia Buie strolled toward the free throw circle.

But Styles opted to throw a skip pass to Tommarah Harris. The sophomore guard set her feet and swished a 3-pointer -- which became a common occurrence for Harris and the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team Saturday afternoon.

Harris provided a career-high 24 points as the Trojan women dismantled Converse (S.C.) College, 68-47, in Conference Carolinas play contested at Kornegay Arena. Harris surpassed her previous career high of 21 set earlier this year against Erskine.

"On offense, we were getting good ball movement, so I was just really taking what the game gave me," said Harris, who shot 6 of 8 beyond the arc and 9 of 13 overall from the floor.

"My teammates were looking for me."

UMO recorded a season-high 21 team assists. The sharing of the ball came from an intense, defensive-minded scheme that forced turnovers and fueled the transition game.

The Trojan women led 26-7 after one quarter.

Head coach Wendy Lee applauded her team's hustle for loose balls and dead-ball rebounds. The Valkyries, who are 0-14 all-time against UMO, surrendered 24 points off of 24 turnovers.

"We were really focused on our gameplan this week," said Harris, who was one of six Trojan women to record four or more rebounds in the game.

"We've been talking about going harder, being more defensive minded and that's why we came out so intense. Coach told us to be aggressive and play team-oriented basketball."

UMO led 37-19 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run. Simmons scored twice in transition, Johnson drained a free throw after getting fouled on an offensive putback and Harris buried a 3-pointer.

Kiara Jones capped the run with a layup.

The Trojan women (4-3 overall, 3-0 CC) had eight of 10 players to scratch in the scoring column. Daria Simmons flirted with a double-double -- 16 points, eight rebounds. Arieal Johnson provided nine points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots, three steals and two assists.

Styles wound up with six points.

"I'm really proud of the effort," Lee said. "I'm pleased with the team effort and the step forward we took with (our) team chemistry (today)."

The Trojan women return to action Tuesday at in-region foe Francis Marion (S.C.) University. UMO returns home Dec. 13 against St. Augustine's.