MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The regionally ranked Chowan Women's Basketball team continued their upward trend as the Hawks defeated the Trojans of Mount Olive 80-77 in non-conference action on the road on Wednesday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 80, Mount Olive 77
RECORDS | Chowan 8-1, Mount Olive 3-6
LOCATION | Mount Olive, N.C. (Kornegay Arena)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Dhyamond Crenshaw paced the Hawks with 27 points, five assists, and eight rebounds. Crenshaw scored 20 points in the first half.
Chantel Roberts chipped in with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Danielle Weldon scored 10 points and hauled in seven boards.
The Hawks gained the edge 12-2 in fastbreak points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter:
Chowan gained the early advantage with an 8-4 lead as Dhyamond Crenshaw paced the Hawks early with four points. The Trojans would counter with an 11-0 run to lead 15-8.
Dhyamond Crenshaw would connect on a pair of free throws but the Trojans knocked down a trey to force a timeout with 3:29 left in the quarter trailing 18-10.
Following the timeout, Chantel Roberts put the Hawks back on course with a triple. Jada Lee knocked down a jumper followed by Dhyamond Crenshaw hitting a layup before Joanne Williams gave the Hawks a 19-18 lead with a basket just over a minute to play in the quarter.
Mount Olive took the lead back from the Hawks with two baskets before Chantel Roberts closed the quarter scoring with a layup off a rebound to trail 22-21 after the opening stanza.
Second Quarter:
The Trojans would open the quarter with a spurt to lead 30-23 as Danielle Weldon tallied the first bucket for the Hawks in the quarter.
Dhyamond Crenshaw traded a bucket with the Trojans before Chantel Roberts hit a three to pull the Hawks to within four, 32-28.
The Trojans answered with a three as Danielle Weldon knocked down a trey and a jumper to bring the contest to 39-34 with just under five minutes to play in the half.
Chowan started chipping away at the deficit as Mariah Coker started with a pair from the stripe. Dhyamond Crenshaw finished off the half with eight straight points to pull CU to within one, 47-46, at the half.
Third Quarter:
Kaylah Henderson opened the half with a trey to spark the Hawks' offense as Chowan went on an 11-4 run to take a 57-51 lead and forced a Mount Olive timeout. Following two buckets by the Trojans, Mariah Coker tied the contest up before Kaylah Henderson gave the Hawks the first lead since 8-4 as Henderson picked the pocket of a Trojan player and finished at the other end to lead 53-51.
Buckets by Dhyamond Crenshaw and Kaylah Henderson forced a timeout by the Trojans leading 57-51.
The Hawks and Trojans continued to trade buckets throughout the quarter until Chantel Roberts drained a three with 3:29 remaining to push the Hawks to a 66-58 advantage.
Neither team scored from the field the remainder of the quarter as the Hawks led 67-61 heading to the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
Mount Olive started chipping away to start the quarter as the Trojans closed the gap to 69-68 with 6:38 remaining. Joanne Williams ended the drought with a jumper at 5:04 to keep the Hawks in front 71-68.
The Trojans continued to fight until Chantel Roberts posted a trey and a layup to lead 76-73. UMO would close the gap to 76-75 and 78-77 but never tie the contest in the final minute as Dhyamond Crenshaw knocked down a pair from the stripe with 6.1 seconds remaining to keep the advantage.
UMO had a chance to tie the contest in the waning seconds but strong defense kept the shot from going in to preserve the win, 80-77.
UP NEXT
Chowan enters CIAA play on Tuesday, December 12 as the Hawks take on Shaw in Raleigh, N.C. Tip-off is slated for 6pm.
