HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker’s Megan Thomas scored 12 points, but it was not enough as Mount Olive used a second half explosion to defeat the Cobras 82-47 on Tuesday night in Conference Carolinas women’s basketball action.  Laporsha Davis scored 18 of her career-high 24 points after halftime for the Trojans and Mount Olive outscored Coker by 30 points in the second half.

Mount Olive saw a 10-point lead cut to one in the first half, but Shequanta McGee and Davis both hit three-pointers in the first 34 seconds of the second half and the Trojans hit 10 of 13 field goal attempts during a 25-6 run to build a 55-31 lead with 13:21 left in the game. Davis scored eight points during the run and the margin never fell below 20 points the remainder of the contest.

The Trojans’ lead reached the 30-point mark when Jasmine McDonald’s three-point play made the score 66-36 with 7:27 left. The final score matched the largest margin of the game.

Mount Olive was 21-for-35 (60.0 percent) from the field in the second half, including 5-for-9 from three-point range.

The game was scoreless for more than three minutes before Maija Castren’s basket with 16:34 left in the first half put Coker on the scoreboard. Mount Olive scored its first points 36 seconds later on a layup by Jasmine Whitby. Davis’ jumper with 12:59 remaining gave the Trojans a 6-5 lead and Gary’s three-point barrage kept Mount Olive on top the remainder of the half.

Gary hit her first three-pointer with 12:22 remaining and drained another three on the Trojans’ next possession. Both baskets came off of Coker turnovers. Her next three-pointer gave Mount Olive its first double-digit lead at 17-7 with 10:57 remaining.

Coker chipped away at the Trojans’ lead and Cassie Kirby knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to pull the Cobras within 21-20 with 4:31 left in the half. Gary answered with her fourth three-pointer of the half and the lead grew to as many as six before Mount Olive settled for a 30-25 halftime lead.

Whitby, who was named Conference Carolinas Women’s Basketball Player of the Week earlier in the day, finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four steals. Gary scored all of her 12 points in the first half.

Davis was 7-for-7 from the field in the second half, including 3-for-3 from three-point range to help the Trojans break away from a five-point halftime lead.

Thomas led Coker with 12 points, while Kirby and Jasmine Alston added nine points apiece. Alston led all players with four assists, while Janelle Dunham and Shanice Cooper shared game-high honors with Whitby with six rebounds apiece.

Coker will return to the hardwood on Thursday when they hit the road to take on St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.