Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-All of Barton College's veterans stepped up on Senior Night en route to dominating 74-58 Conference Carolinas women's basketball victory over local rival Mount Olive College on Friday in Wilson Gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs – ranked sixth in the current NCAA Division II Southeast Region Top-10 Poll – delivered a strong performance in front of a large home crowd of over 1,000 fans in winning a fifth straight game. Barton finished the regular season at 20-6 overall for the programs fifth straight 20-win season. The Lady Bulldogs completed league play at 19-3 to earn the second seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Barton will host seventh-seeded Belmont Abbey College in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Dog House where the Lady Bulldogs are 10-1 on the season.
Junior guard Nyeshea Willie enters postseason play leading the conference in scoring at 18.6 points per game after notching a game-high 21 points against the Trojans.
Barton's talented senior class of seven was honored after the win by Barton College head coach Wendee Saintsing. The seniors all played well with guard Elaine Morgan and post Janae Jackson each tallied double-doubles; forward Shante Neal finishing one rebound shy of her own double-double; guard Briana Terry scoring six points including back-to-back layups; guard Alexa Tovella drilled a three-point dagger; and guard Ashley Crumel making one of the Lady Bulldogs seven steals that helped Barton double up Mount Olive on points off turnovers, 20-10. Forward Jolanda Mitchell was unable to suit up due to injury.
The hosts controlled nearly all facets of the game and never trailed. Barton shot 47.6% from the floor and a perfect 12-for-12 (100%) from the free throw line. Mount Olive (15-11, 11-11) shot 42.1% from the field and 75% from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs dominated the battle of the backboards, 38-30, and committed fewer turnovers, 14-10, and fouls, 15-10.
Neal scored a quick layup to start play after Morgan saved the opening tip from going out of bounds and the Bulldogs never fell behind. The Trojans hung around for the first 10 minutes and was able to tie the score on three occasions including as late as 14-14 with 10:42 left on a layup by senior Tamara Nesmith. A quick five-foot jumper by Jackson on an inbounds pass by Morgan put the Lady Bulldogs ahead for good and triggered a 9-2 spurt. Willie wrapped up the run by drilling a 3-pointer on another Morgan dime to put the Bulldogs in front 23-16. Barton extended its lead to 10 points three times late including a pair of free throws by Jackson that gave the hosts a 33-23 halftime advantage.
The Trojans pulled to within sixth points a couple of times early in the second half but a 16-3 run midway through the final period extended the Bulldogs cushion to 19 points. Terry finished off the decisive run with the first of her two consecutive lay-ins. Tovella's trey from the left wing at the 3:35 mark then gave BC its largest lead of 20 at 70-50. A Neal fastbreak layup a couple minutes later matched the Bulldogs best scoring margin at 74-54. Morgan provided the lead pass to Neal for her 10th assist of the game.
Morgan added 10 points to go along with her 10 helpers for her third double-double in her last five games. Morgan made a game-high three steals to help lead to a 14-4 edge on fast break points. Jackson also registered her third double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Neal netted 18 points and pulled down nine boards.
Mount Olive (15-11 Overall, 11-11 Conf.) slipped under .500 on the road at 6-7. The Trojans are the fifth seed in the league tourney and will visit fourth-seeded Coker in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Nesmith led three MOC players in double digits with 21 points while completing a double-double with 10 rebounds. Jasmine McDonald and Alexandra Silva each added 15 points.
