Trojan women capture 4th straight win

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on February 1, 2014 11:13 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- University of Mount Olive women's coach Wendy Lee admitted her team was still searching for its identity following a loss two weeks ago.

The Trojans have found it.

Katie Paschal led four UMO players in double figures with 15 points in a 73-47 victory over Conference Carolinas foe North Greenville at Kornegay Arena on Saturday afternoon. It was the Trojans' fourth consecutive win.

Kirksten Mitchell added 14 points, Jasmine McDonald supplied 13 and Joneiqua Gary had 11.

The Trojans (12-7 overall, 7-4 CC) struggled in their half-court offense early in the opening first half. They made up for it by scoring 10 points off of 13 turnovers and collecting 18 rebounds.

The Crusaders shot 31 percent (9 of 29) from the floor in the first half.

"The key the last few games for us has been defense and rebounding," Trojans' head coach Wendy Lee said. "Tonight we held them to 26 percent from the floor, so really good defense can make up for a multitude of issues on the offensive end."

Mitchell provided Mount Olive with a spark off the bench in the first half. Mitchell scored seven points during a 10-0 run that helped the Trojans build a 22-12 lead.

"Coming off the bench is more comfortable for me than starting," Mitchell said. "Watching the game and seeing what needs to be done, I just go out there and try to play hard. I noticed nobody was attacking well so I just knew I had to drive against their post players and keep attacking."

The Trojans made 14 field goals off 10 assists in the first half and scored 18 points in the paint on their way to a 38-25 lead at halftime.

Mount Olive continued its strong defensive play in the second half and found some rhythm in its half-court offense. Mitchell and Paschal each knocked down 3-pointers as part of a 23-9 run that pushed the margin to 61-34.

The Trojans shot 27 for 54 (50 percent) from the floor for the game and finished with 22 assists to just nine for the Crusaders. Mount Olive also forced North Greenville into 29 turnovers that led to 22 points.

"Our defense led to some transition buckets and then we were able to execute," Lee said. "We got some stops and some kick outs. When we got some transition buckets in the second half I thought it made us loosen up and play a little more relaxed."

UMO travels to in-state foe Pfeiffer University on Wednesday.