Box Score by Kevin Buczek
CONCORD, N.C.-Senior guard Ashley Thornton scored a game-high 18 points in her last collegiate game to keep seventh-seeded Barton College's chances of a second straight upset in the 2014 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament Powered by OrthoCarolina alive, but third-seeded University of Mount Olive closed the second semifinal at Cabarrus Arena and Events Center on a 12-2 run over the final five minutes to hang on for a 76-59 win.
The Trojans improved to 18-10 overall and will play top-seed Limestone College in the championship game on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Lady Bulldogs ended their season with a record of 13-15.
Barton was trying to pull off its second straight upset after knocking off second-seeded Belmont Abbey – ranked sixth in the Southeast Region – in the quarterfinals. Senior guard Nyeshea Willie, who ranks third in DII in scoring, was named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year for a second consecutive season but was missed on Wednesday after suffering a season-ending injury in BC's regular season finale at Mount Olive.
"The first thing that I said to them when I walked in (to the locker) was that I was proud of them for being here," said Barton veteran head coach Wendee Saintsing. "I'm not proud with the way we played today, I'm not proud of the way we competed."
Thornton stepped up and made four of her game-high five 3-pointers in the second half to keep the second half deficit to single digits but Barton was unable to overcome a rough start.
"I'm disappointed we didn't get the win," stated Thornton. "This is my last game and I wanted more. But I'm proud of all my teammates who stepped up. I was just trying to keep us in the game any way I could. They were giving me the three, so I was just taking whatever they gave me."
The Lady Bulldogs missed their first seven shots, allowing Mount Olive to take an early 6-0 lead. However, Barton responded with the next six points, and a 3-pointer by BC junior Shadawn Clanton knotted the score for the only time at 6-6.
Consecutive three-pointers by senior Jasmine McDonald and Joneiqua Gary on the Trojans' next two possessions regained the six-point edge for the higher seed. The defending tourney champs led for the final 35 minutes and never trailed.
Another trey by Gary increased the Trojans advantage to a first-half best 12 points (29-17) but Barton started to heat up to stay within striking distance. A pair of layups by freshmen Tiffany Webster and Shatisha Dukes closed the gap to eight points a couple times in the final three minutes but Mount Olive answered both times with its own lay-ins by Gary and senior Katie Paschal.
Thornton went 1 of 2 from the free throw line with 1:01 left to close the halftime margin to single digits, 36-27, as both squads missed on their last opportunities in the final minute.
Barton shot slightly better than Mount Olive in the first 20 minutes at 37.9% (11 of 29) compared to 36.4% (12 of 33) but the Trojans dominated the glass and took advantage of more free throws to construct the nine-point cushion at the break. UMO held a 29-17 rebounding advantage including 14 offensive rebounds that led eight second-chance points. The Trojans also made 9 of 16 (56.3%) free throws to just 3 of 9 (33.3%) by the Lady Bulldogs.
Paschal, a Second Team All-Conference honoree for Mount Olive, led all players at the intermission with 12 points. Gary netted nine first-half points. Barton had eight different scorers in the opening period with Webster leading the pack of Bulldogs with five points.
Thornton swished 14 of her 18 points after the teams returned from the locker room but the Trojans had an answer to every rally the Bulldogs started. Barton seemed to gain some momentum late when Webster scored a layup and then Thornton bucketed a trey off a UMO turnover to inch the Lady Bulldogs within six, 60-54, at the 6:38 mark.
Junior Ty Wallace provided the Trojans counterpunch with a jumper in the paint just 18 second later. Barton missed its next two shots and Paschal made a baseline 10-footer to extend Mount Olive's lead back to 10 points. Junior Brianna Thomas tried one last comeback for BC by converting on an old-fashioned three-point play with exactly five minutes to go, but the Lady Bulldogs would only make one of their final seven shots down the stretch. On the other end, Mount Olive made 4 of 6 field goals and 3 of 4 free throws in the final five minutes to pull away late.
McDonald – the 2013 Conference Carolinas Tournament MVP and 2014 First Team All-Conference honoree – led the Trojans with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Gary and senior Kirksten Mitchell each scored 16 points for Mount Olive and Paschal totaled 14 points. Wallace yanked down a game-high 14 rebounds as UMO controlled the backboards, 56-33.
Webster was the only other Lady Bulldog to score in double digits other than Thornton with 11 points. Junior Kia Funderburk came off the bench and provided a season-high eight points. Freshman Caila Carter was held scoreless but pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Dukes chipped in six points and five rebounds. Thornton added four assists.
Barton shot 40% (24 of 60) from the field including 35.3% (6 of 17) from 3-point distance but the Lady Bulldogs could not overcome the 23 rebound margin and nine more foul calls, 22-13, against them. Mount Olive nearly matched BC going 38.8% (26 of 67) from the floor and 33.3% (7 of 21) from long range but made over three times as many free throws. UMO went 17 of 28 (60.7%) and BC was 5 of 13 (38.5%). The Trojans also doubled up the Bulldogs, 18-9, on second-chance points.
Coach Saintsing concluded, "We just didn't play hard enough. When you allow 56 rebounds – 26 offensive ones – the other team is out-working you. That's the story. We cleaned up the little things on the defensive end, we forced them to take outside shots and they missed them, but they get another shot and another shot and they finally finish. You can't do that against a good team like Mount Olive."
