WILSON, N.C. – The Barton women's basketball team (5-13, 4-5) couldn't hold a 12-point halftime lead and let rival Mount Olive (4-12, 2-6) escape with a 66-64 win over the Bulldogs Wednesday evening in a Conference Carolinas contest at Wilson Gymnasium.
The Trojans' Laila Anderson (Burlington, N.C.) led all scorers with 22 points to go along with eight assists and five steals as Mount Olive rallied from a 40-28 halftime deficit to take the win.
Mount Olive's Alexis Durham (Plumas Lake, Calif.) broke a 61-all tie with the game-winning field goal with just over two minutes left as the visitors snapped a nine-game losing streak.
Barton was led by senior guard
Lauren Walker (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore guard
Lauren Mingo (Clinton, Md.) with 18 points each but the Bulldogs were hurt by their performance from the charity stripe – 12-of-22 (55 percent) – which kept Mount Olive within striking distance.
Barton senior guard
Cierra Revelle (Sanford, N.C.) and freshman center
Nyla Powell (Rocky Mount, N.C.) added 11 and 10 points, respectively, but the home team was also hurt by 17 turnovers.
Barton remains at home to take on Lees-McRae in a Conference Carolinas game Saturday at 2:00 p.m., at Wilson Gymnasium while Mount Olive travels to Bristol, Tenn., to take on King on Saturday afternoon in a league contest at 2:00 p.m., as well.
