Elon 50, Winston-Salem State 42
ELON, N.C. Tierra Bumbrey pumped in a game-high 12 points and Nicole Allison scored a season-high 11 as Elon out-scrapped Winston-Salem State for a 50-42 non-conference women’s basketball triumph Thursday night at Alumni Gym.
Bumbrey and Allison combined for 13 of their team’s final 18 points as the Phoenix (5-4) rose to its best start after nine games since opening the 1999-2000 campaign at 6-3.
Bumbrey connected on five of her eight shots from the field and snatched five steals while Allison made five of her seven attempts from the floor. Nikko King, Katie Whidden and Shamica Spears, in her Elon debut, each hauled in six rebounds.
With the victory, the Phoenix improved to 8-1 in the all-time series against the Rams (2-9). The contest marked the first meeting of the two teams since a 74-61 Elon setback at Winston-Salem State on Jan. 21, 1984.
The Phoenix also improved to 60-30 (.667) in its last eight years at Alumni Gym, including 4-1 this season. Those 90 games date back to the 1999-2000 season, Elon’s first official NCAA Division I campaign.
The contest featured eight lead changes and seven ties. The Phoenix outscored the Rams 17-5 off turnovers and 20-4 off the bench. Winston-Salem State edged Elon 18-16 in the paint.
The Rams sprinted to an early 16-9 advantage on a three-pointer by Lavontay Johnson with 12:54 left in the first period. Elon used a 17-5 run to take a 26-21 halftime edge into the locker room as Rachel Hester scored a trey as time expired.
Winston-Salem State rallied back to tie the score three times in the second half, the last time at 34-34 on a jumper by Johnson with 11:57 remaining. The Phoenix went on to score 16 of the game’s next 22 points to build a 50-40 lead on a pair of free throws by Tiffany Davis with 46 seconds to go.
Elon, which has recorded 10 or more steals in each of its last four games, tallied 15 steals against the Rams. Winston-Salem State logged 11 steals but surrendered 20 turnovers to 14 by the Phoenix. Elon won the battle of the boards 33-27.
Winston-Salem State fired 42.1 percent (16 of 38) from the field, 11.1 percent (1 of 9) behind the arc and 56.3 percent (9 of 16) from the free throw line. Elon shot 38.5 percent (20 of 52) from the floor, 25.0 percent (3 of 12) from beyond the arch and 53.8 percent (7 of 13) from the charity stripe.
For the Rams, Candace Saunders and Keoshia Worthy each knocked down 10 points while teammate Shalonda Carter posted a contest-best 10 rebounds.
Elon begins Southern Conference play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Appalachian State.