PICKLE CLASSIC: Virginia Union women roll past UMO

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 21, 2015 11:07 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- University of Mount Olive lost its mental focus on the defensive end of the court within a three-minute stretch during opening-period play against Virginia Union on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers spotted the Trojans the first point -- a Jada Bacchus free throw after she got fouled on a drive to the basket.

UMO went silent from that point.

Jasmin Dancy's backdoor layup off an assist from senior guard Kianna Johnson sparked a 14-0 run. The Trojan women never recovered from that point and endured a 95-67, non-conference women's basketball loss on day two of the 50th annual Pickle Classic.

Johnson, a Michigan State transfer, just missed a triple-double with 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for unbeaten Virginia Union. Dancy finished with 15 points and eight boards, while Ashley Smith contributed 15 points.

"That's really critical," Panthers head coach AnnMarie Gilbert said of the early offensive push. "We want to win the first five minutes of every ballgame and if we can get out like that, that was the most pleasing thing about the game."

Consecutive baskets by Kiara Jones, who provided a team-best 16 points in a reserve role, helped close the gap to 14-8. The Panthers continued to answer on the offensive end and foul trouble began to plague Mount Olive.

Bacchus, Jones and 6-foot-4 center Aerial Johnson each eventually joined each other on the bench with three fouls apiece. Johnson managed to score seven points and grab nine rebounds in 27 minutes of action.

"Some of the foul trouble was from the frustration from the run and not being quite sure on how to get stops on a really good team that can score," UMO head coach Wendy Lee said. "We knew defense would have to be a primary focus, but when you get so frustrated about how good their offense was going for them early, you're not focused on defense any more."

Ni'Ya Styles' 3-pointer off Buie's assist trimmed the Panthers' lead to 36-29 in the second quarter. Virginia Union (4-0 overall) responded with a 9-3 run and led 45-32 at halftime.

UMO rallied one more time in the third.

Buie drove to the basket and scored, but missed the free throw with 6:03 to go. The Panthers' 51-43 advantage quickly swelled to 68-50 and the Trojan women (1-2) never threatened again.

"We got mental and other teams that are good are going to take advantage of that, and they did," Lee said. "Having certain people in foul trouble and on the bench a majority of the game made us a lot smaller. (That) changed the nature of the game."

Virginia Union converted 26 UMO turnovers into 39 points and owned a 15-8 edge in second-chance points. The Trojan women outscored the Panthers' bench 48-12.