Belmont Abbey junior McKenzie Owen led all players with a career-high 23 points, but the Mount Olive women's basketball team shot 61 percent from the field as four Lady Trojans reached double figures in a 77-64 victory this evening at the Wheeler Center. Mount Olive improves to 15-8 overall and 11-8 in Conference Carolinas, while the Abbey drops to 11-12 overall and 10-0 in league play.

Owen narrowly missed a double double as she led all scorers with 23 points on 10-14 shooting while pulling down nine rebounds. She also had two assists and a steal. Kelsey Long and Morgan Midkiff both totaled 11 points as the Crusaders shot 39 percent (24-61) from the field.

Mount Olive shot a blistering 61.2 percent (30-49) from the field and recorded a better output from three-point range, sinking eight of 12 (66.7 percent). Tamara Nesmith led the Lady Trojans with 21 points on nine of 14 shooting, while Kirksten Mitchell sank seven of 10 from the field and two of three from the line for 19 points. Joneiqua Gary added 14 and Jasmine McDonald netted 11.

Belmont Abbey's biggest lead was six points at 16-10 with 10:06 to go in the first on a pair of Adrienne Simmons free throws, but Mount Olive outscored the Abbey 30-18 the rest of the half to take a 40-34 lead into the break. After trailing by six, Mount Olive seized the lead only to have the Abbey battle back and tie the game three times, but the Crusaders could not overtake the lead again.

In the second half Mount Olive shot 71 percent from the floor as it outscored the Abbey 37-30 in the period. The Lady Trojans opened the final period on a 17-2 run to move their lead to 17 points at 55-38 with 13:51 to play.

The advantage stayed in the double digits the rest of the way, as the Mount Olive lead never dropped below 13 points, while its lead was as high as 19 at 77-58 with 2:50 to play.