January 31, 2008

Boxscore

Release contributed by Mount Olive Sports Information

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C.—Freshman guard Kristin Zipkin (Canton, Ga.) tallied career-highs for 12 points and seven rebounds but host Mount Olive College out shot St. Andrews Presbyterian College en route to a 81-62 Conference Carolinas women’s basketball victory on Thursday at Kornegey Arena.

Helen Moore led all scorers with 22 points and Lakeisha Monroe came within two rebounds of a triple-double as Mount Olive defeated St. Andrews by 19-points. Monroe finished with 16 points and a career-high 12 assists to go with a game-high eight rebounds as the Trojans won their fourth in a row and seventh of their last eight games.

The Lady Trojans (12-8 overall, 10-3 Conference Carolinas) win avenged a loss to the Lady Knights (5-14, 4-8) in Laurinburg on January 10 (56-52).

Shequanta McGee and Brittney Robich combined for 12 consecutive Mount Olive points – all from beyond the arc – during a 14-2 run early in the first half to put the Trojans ahead to stay.

Mount Olive was four points down less than four minutes into the game, but Moore’s basket with 14:48 left in the first half tied the game 12-12. Moore scored eight of the Trojans’ first 12 points.

McGee and Robich connected on three-pointers on the next two Trojan possessions, then followed with back-to-back three’s after a pair of St. Andrews free throws to give Mount Olive a 24-14 lead with 11:10 remaining. The lead grew to as many as 11 before St. Andrews rallied to pull within 35-31 after a three-pointer by senior Erika Thompson (Kalamazoo, Mich.).

The Trojans held a five-point lead in the final minute when Lakeisha Monroe hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds left. Jill Oaks made a steal and Keona Corley found Monroe for a driving layup with seven seconds remaining to give Mount Olive a 42-32 halftime lead.

Monroe had eight assists by halftime, already eclipsing her previous best of six assists in the first 20 minutes. Mount Olive was 6-for-11 from three-point range in the first half.

Moore scored underneath 10 seconds into the second half and her steal on St. Andrews’ ensuing possession set up Monroe with a layup to complete an 11-1 run and extend the Trojans’ margin to 14. The lead stayed in double figures as Corley’s layup with 13:01 remaining gave Mount Olive a 54-39 advantage.

Back-to-back baskets by senior Danielle Norman (Bronx, N.Y.) capped a 6-0 St. Andrews run as the Knights cut the lead down to single digits. But Corley answered with a basket and Moore converted a three-point play to give the Trojans a 59-46 lead with 8:34 left to play. Moore’s free throw was the first attempt of the game for Mount Olive. The Trojans finished 4-for-4 from the line, two apiece by Moore and Jones.

St. Andrews got as close as 11 points, but Tomeka Prichard’s three-pointer ignited a 13-2 run and Mount Olive took its biggest lead at 74-52 with 3:13 remaining. The margin never fell below 16 the rest of the way.

Prichard finished with 14 points, while Robich added nine points, all from three-point rage. Corley, who ranks in the top 20 in the nation in assists per game, dished out eight assists. Oaks pulled down a season-high seven rebounds.

Mount Olive shot 51.5 percent from the field, boosted by Moore (10-for-17) and Monroe (7-for-12).

Norman, who had to play conservatively due to foul trouble, led St. Andrews with 18 points, while Zipken added 12 points and Thompson finished with 10 points and five assists. Junior Desiree Jones (Tulsa, Okla.) dished out six assists and recorded a game-high four steals for the Knights.

St. Andrews had won each of the previous five meetings, including a come-from-behind 56-52 win at Laurinburg, N.C., 21 days earlier.

Mount Olive returns to action Saturday as the Trojans play host to nationally 21st-ranked Anderson in a Conference Carolinas match-up at 2:00 p.m. while St. Andrews travels to Banner Elk, N.C. for a conference battle with Lees-McRae College at the same time.