MOUNT OLIVE – At the 42nd Annual Church Night, the University of Mount Olive’s women’s basketball team cruised past Erskine by a 71-52 margin in conference action on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 6-13 overall with a 4-7 mark in league play. Meanwhile, the Flying Fleet falls to 3-17 overall behind a 1-11 mark in conference play. This win marks the program’s 22nd win over Erskine going back to 2012.
In 27 minutes of play, senior Reagan Hune produced a season-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting while converting a perfect four-of-four from the free throw line. Junior Dominique Pacheco finished with a career-high 17 points while adding four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. Junior Alexis Durham also tallied 10 points, four assists, four steals, and one block in 17 minutes after battling foul trouble.
Mount Olive controlled the game as they started with a strong 5-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter. With a layup by Erskine, the Flying Fleet closed the gap, 5-2. After a missed shot by EC, UMO extended the lead to 10-2. At the 6:56 mark, Erskine scored in the paint before the Trojans made an 11-point run before the Fleet were awarded two free-throw attempts, 21-6. Closing the first quarter, the Trojans finished with three more points by redshirt freshman Maddison Mangalao. In the second quarter, Erskine outscored the Trojans 17-12 but still fell short at halftime, 36-23.
In the third quarter, Mount Olive established a 17-point lead behind a trio of two-pointers by sophomore Jada Priebe, Durham, and Hune. Both teams were able to produce scoring opportunities but UMO out-shot the Fleet 23-10. In the remaining minutes of the game, Mount Olive and Erskine went back and forth as Hune and Pacheco combined for five points. Erskine finished with 19 points in the fourth quarter, while Mount Olive finished with seven more points from Durham and Pacheco.
The Trojans return to play on Wednesday as they hit the road to face Francis Marion.
