Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College rallied from double-digits down to within a point behind 15 second-half points from freshman Tiffany Webster, but University of Mount Olive seniors Jasmine McDonald and Joneiqua Gary combined for eight points in the final two minutes to give the Trojans a 69-62 Conference Carolinas victory Thursday night in Wilson Gym.
With Mount Olive leading by a single point, 61-60, McDonald drove for consecutive layups to give the Trojans a 65-60 cushion. Gary then sank four three throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the win for UMO, which improved to 11-7 overall and 6-4 in league play.
McDonald, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished the game with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Gary scored 13 points, 10 of those coming in the second half. The Trojans were paced by 19 points from senior Katie Paschal. Junior Ty Wallace contributed 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the winners.
Barton, now 8-10 overall and 5-5 in the conference, was paced by a game-high 21 points from senior Nyeshea Willie, who also had seven rebounds and four steals. Webster finished the night with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals. Junior Brianna Thomas posted 11 points and eight rebounds, and senior Ashley Thornton chipped in 10 points.
Barton trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and was still down 13 points with just over six minutes to play when consecutive layups by senior Willie and Webster started a furious comeback that was capped by a Thornton 3-pointer, pulling the Lady Bulldogs to within one at 61-60 with 2:41 to play.
A steal by Willie gave Barton a chance to take the lead, but another Thornton 3-point attempt was off the mark, and a layup by Webster one possession later was blocked by UMO's Leah Graham. McDonald then beat her defender on the drive, making a layup to give the Trojans a 3-point cushion.
Barton missed a shot on the other end, and McDonald again drove for a layup, putting UMO up five, 65-60. Thomas made a jumper along the baseline to pull the Lady Bulldogs within three, but Gary was fouled with 31 seconds left, and sank both free throws to put Mount Olive up five again.
After the Lady Bulldogs missed two shots on their next possession, Graham missed two free throws for Mount Olive, but Wallace pulled down an offensive rebound, and Barton was forced to foul Gary again with 14 seconds left. Gary made both, completing a 6-for-6 night at the line, to account for the final margin.
The loss for Barton marked the first time since the 2004-05 season that the Lady Bulldogs have lost four games at home in the same season.
Barton scored the game's first five points to take its biggest lead of the contest, and still led by four at 17-13 with 9:14 left in the half on a jumper by Thomas, who scored nine of her 11 points in the first period.
However, the Lady Bulldogs went ice cold from there, making just 1-of-12 from the field with three turnovers over the remainder of the period, and Mount Olive built a 30-22 halftime advantage.
The struggles from the floor continued for Barton to open the second period, as the team missed its first four shots from the floor and turned the ball over three more times. With the Lady Bulldogs managing just two free throws over the first three and a half minutes of the period, the Trojans pulled away to a seemingly comfortable 40-24 lead.
Mount Olive still led by that 16-point margin at 46-30 with just under 14 minutes left when a 3-pointer by Thornton started Barton on a 12-4 run that cut the deficit in half to eight points at 50-42 with 10:14 to go. UMO quickly pushed the lead back to double-digits, and enjoyed a 13-point margin at 59-46 with 6:03 to play when the Lady Bulldogs made their big rally to within one.
Barton helped itself by turning up the pressure defensively, forcing the Trojans into 13 second-half turnovers (19 for the game). It also shot nearly 40 percent in the second half after managing just 27 percent in the opening frame.
However, Mount Olive shot 51 percent from the field in the second half and out-rebounded the Lady Bulldogs 52 to 38 in the contest. The Trojans also posted six blocks in the game.
Barton doesn't have much time to regroup, as the Lady Bulldogs have just one day off before hosting King University in a league match at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Dog House. Barton defeated the Tornado, 84-76, in the two teams' earlier meeting this year.
