MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The Chowan Women's Basketball team soared out to an early first quarter lead and held on against rival Mount Olive in Conference Carolinas road action on Wednesday evening in an 81-72 victory.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 81, Mount Olive 72

RECORDS | Chowan 4-2 (1-1), Mount Olive 2-4 (1-1)

LOCATION | Mount Olive, N.C. (Kornegay Arena)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Demetria Bland paced the Hawks with 16 points going 9-10 from the stripe.  Keibra Hopkins added 15 points, while Destiny Robinson added 14 points.  Brittany Wilcox collected a career-high 12 points on 6-8 shooting and Aniah Patterson posted 11 points.  Patterson also hauled in a team-leading nine rebounds to go with five assists and two steals.

Chowan scored a season-high 29 points in the first quarter while shooting 75.0% (12-16) from the floor.  The Hawks would go on to shoot 73.1% (19-26) in the opening half.  Chowan finished the contest shooting 60% (30-50) from the floor.

The Hawks handed the Trojans their first home loss of the season despite turning the ball over 32 times as UMO posted 19 steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter:

Demetria Bland put the Hawks on the board early with a three pointer.  Aniah Patterson connected in transition with a layup.  Destiny Robinson would push the lead to 7-1 with a layup before UMO posted their first basket of the contest.  Keibra Hopkins would answer at the other end to lead 10-4.

Destiny Robinson collected another basket before Brittany Wilcox notched a layup after a steal to double-up the Trojans, 14-7.  Robinson added a layup to force an UMO timeout.

Out of the break, Brittany Wilcox posted a putback layup and Aniah Patterson hit a jumper to push the advantage to double figures, 20-9.  Tyaysia Sharpe added an old-fashioned three-point play before a pair from the stripe by Yasmine Brown and a layup by Destiny Robinson stretched the lead to 27-12.

Imani Hickman collected a putback layup as the Hawks led 29-17 at the end of the opening frame.

Second Quarter:

Aniah Patterson connected from the floor as the scoring slowed.  UMO cut the deficit to single-digits with a 10-0 run before Imani Hickman and Keibra Hopkins ended the run with a pair of baskets.  Tyaysia Sharpe pushed the lead back out to double figures with a floater from the block.

The Hawks would force a turnover as Aniah Patterson continued the run for the Hawks with a layup.  Keibra Hopkins dialed up a three-pointer before Demetria Bland picked up a pair from the stripe to lead 44-29.  Hopkins added another jumper to give the Hawks a 46-31 lead going into the intermission.

Third Quarter:

Mount Olive started the frame with a quick 9-2 run to close the gap to single-digits.  Imani Hickman collected the first basket of the frame for the Hawks nearly four minutes into the quarter.  Demetria Bland added a point at the line before Brittany Wilcox posted a putback basket following the miss to push the lead back to double figures, 51-40.

Brittany Wilcox collected a layup before Keibra Hopkins added a putback basket and the foul to continue the run for the Hawks.  Wilcox notched a layup off a steal by Imani Hickman to push the lead to 58-41.  Demetria Bland went coast-to-coast on a steal to continue the run and force a timeout by the Trojans.

The Trojans slowed the run with a three-pointer before Demetria Bland connected with a jumper and a three-pointer by Aniah Patterson to end the quarter, 65-48.

Fourth Quarter:

Imani Hickman put the Hawks on the board in the frame with a layup off an assist from Aniah Patterson.  Keibra Hopkins tallied a pair at the charity stripe before Destiny Robinson notched a layup to offset the Trojan attack, 71-57, midway through the frame.

Mount Olive went on a run to close the gap to single-digits as the Hawks turned the ball over on four straight possessions.  Destiny Robinson slowed the run with a layup as the Trojans would be forced to foul in the final two minutes.

Destiny Robinson pick up two points at the stripe before Demetria Bland went 4-4 at the stripe.  UMO hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 79-69 with 34.2 remaining.  The Hawks would turn the ball over on back-to-back possessions as the Trojans continued to cut the deficit.  Bland salted away the contest with two more from the stripe for the 81-72 victory.

UP NEXT

Chowan returns home to host Lees-McRae in Conference Carolinas action on Saturday, December 3.  Tip-off is slated for 2pm.