When they played on Jan. 5, the No. 12 Anderson Lady Trojans rallied to defeat Mount Olive on a last-second bucket.

Saturday in the finals of the Conference Carolinas Athletic Association Basketball Tournament, the Mocs wouldn’t let the Lady Trojans get that close.

Mount Olive (20-10), the No. 3 seed in the CCAA tourney, built a 19-point halftime lead and held off a furious second half charge by the hosts to take a 73-63 victory at the Abney Center. The upset snapped Anderson’s 20-game winning streak, although the Lady Trojans (27-3) will still receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Regionals.

The Mocs received an automatic bid to the East Regional thanks to Saturday’s upset.

“This showed the poise our girls have,” Mount Olive coach Wendy Lee said after helping cut down the nets. “I’m really proud of our team for playing hard for 40 minutes. Anderson is almost impossible to beat at home, so to be able to win here, especially in the championship, is a great accomplishment.”

The Lady Trojans have thrived on quick starts all season long, but that wasn’t the case Saturday. Anderson fell behind 11-1 five minutes into the contest and simply couldn’t find the range in the first half. Coach Jeff Dow’s squad hit just seven of 25 shots over the first 20 minutes.

“We got off to a slow start, and that’s unusual for us,” Dow said. “We had a low shooting percentage and we only forced 17 turnovers in the game. We just didn’t get enough defensive pressure on Mount Olive and that’s to their credit.”

Although Anderson trailed 42-23 at the half it looked as though some late magic might lead the Lady Trojans all the way back. Thanks to hot shooting from Keana Boyd down the stretch, Anderson was able to pull within four at 57-53 with 6:19 to play.

Unfortunately for fans of the home team, the Women of Troy would get no closer.

As time wound down AU’s shooting touch once again went awry, and the Mocs earned the right to celebrate with a 10-point victory.

Helen Monroe led Mount Olive with 21 points, while CCAA Tournament MVP Lakeisha Monroe added 19.

Boyd was practically a one-woman show for the Lady Trojans, pumping in a game-high 31 points.

Nikki Anthony did her usual double-double act, scoring 17 points and ripping down 17 rebounds.

Boyd and Anthony were named to the all-tourney team.

However, no other Anderson player had more than 4 points in the contest.

“They were only called for six fouls in the second half, which is remarkable,” Dow said. “We usually go to free throw line 30 times against these guys, but just shot 21 tonight.

“But they played a terrific game.”

Anderson will find out its NCAA Regional opponent late tonight when the NCAA releases pairings on a webcast. Anderson is expected to go to the East Regional in Pennsylvania.

“I think we’ll probably still be the No. 3 seed,” Dow said. “We hated to lose, but we lost to a 20-win team so it was a quality loss. Now we just have to wait and see who we play next.”