Elon 83, Troy 52
ELON, N.C. - A balanced offensive attack and an exceptional effort on the defensive end helped the Elon University women's basketball team capture its second win of the season on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 14, claiming a 83-52 victory over the Troy Trojans to win the Phoenix Classic.
Elon (2-0) had four players score in double figures, with sophomore forward Kelsey Evans leading the way with a team-best 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Evans was named the Phoenix Classic MVP after a pair of stellar performances for the Phoenix. Evans also registered five blocks for Elon and grabbed five rebounds.
Ali Ford and Tiara Gause both earned all-tournament honors for the Phoenix, as Ford finished with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting, while Gause added 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
Freshman guard Kelsey Harris pitched in 10 points for Elon, while sophomore forward Lei Lei Hairston controlled the boards with a team-best 12 rebounds.
Lisa Archie had a solid game off the bench, scoring seven points and blocking four shots in 18 minutes.
"I was really proud of our team's effort defensively because they really bought into being aggressive throughout the game without fouling," said Elon head women's basketball coach Karen Barefoot. "Troy is a very solid team and we were able to force them into 34 turnovers and come out on top over a very physical team."
Defensively, Elon forced 34 Troy turnovers while committing just 12. The Phoenix out-blocked the Trojans, 10-3, in the victory, while also claiming 16 steals. Junior guard Shon Redmond paved the way with a game-high four steals for the Phoenix.
Elon shot 40 percent from the field in the win, while also shooting 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the free throw line.
Following a Ford three-ball to give Elon a 10-point lead early on, freshman guard Kelsey Harris hit a pair of free throws to extend the Phoenix's lead to 12 points, 20-8, with 12:51 remaining in the opening frame.
Elon would go up by as many as 25 in the first half after an Evans layup following an offensive board gave the Phoenix a commanding 43-18 edge with 2:03 remaining.
Elon went into the locker room with a 45-22 lead after shooting 44 percent from the field (18-of-41) in the first 20 minutes and sinking all six free throw attempts. Defensively, Elon held Troy to 30 percent shooting from the field while forcing 16 Trojan turnovers and committing just three. Evans led all scorers with 12 points in the first half.
Ford extended Elon's lead to 26 points with 15:21 left in the game after pulling up for three on a Phoenix fast break to make it a 55-29 game. Less than a minute later, Ford's two makes from the free throw line extended Elon's lead to 57-29.
The Phoenix never look back, going up by as many as 35 points in the second half to open the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.
Elon travels for its first road contest of the season on Thursday, Nov. 18, with a trip to Blacksburg, Va. to face the Virginia Tech Hokies at 7 p.m.
Phoenix Classic All-Tournament Team
Becky Peters - Fordham
Destiny Jacobs - Stony Brook
Donette McNair - Troy
Tiara Gause - Elon
Ali Ford - Elon
Most Valuable Player - Kelsey Evans, Elon
No. 19 Georgia 58, Georgia Southern 43
ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team battled 19th-ranked Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum Sunday afternoon, but could not overcome an 11-point halftime deficit as the Lady Bulldogs came away with the 58-43 win. The Lady Eagles played well defensively and cut the lead to eight points three times in the second half, but Georgia responded with timely three-pointers to hold off Georgia Southern's charge.
Senior guard Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) had 10 points and a career-best nine rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles. Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Ro-Ro Smith (Blackshear, Ga.) finished with nine points each while Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) had seven rebounds for Georgia Southern. UGA's Porsha Phillips recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds with Meredith Mitchell matching her point total and contributing seven assists.
Georgia Southern went on an 8-0 run over four minutes in the first half to take a 15-14 lead over the Lady Bulldogs as Navarro keyed the run with four points and baskets by Smith, Danielle Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) and Frye. Georgia's Khaalidah Miller hit a three-pointer at the 7:10 mark in the first half to take back the lead for good for the Lady Bulldogs.
Despite less than 30 percent shooting in the first half, the Lady Eagles hung in with the nationally ranked Lady Bulldogs, causing eight turnovers. After Georgia Southern's run midway through the first, Georgia responded with a run of its own, mixing in layups and three-point field goals for a 30-19 score going into the half.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half with a quick basket, but a jumper from Frye and trey from Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) helped the Lady Eagles trim the lead to eight. The two teams traded three-point baskets until Tate made a layup at the 12:10 mark. The Lady Bulldogs brought their lead back up to 12 then GSU's Mimi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) connected on a jumper and Tate had another layup to bring the Lady Eagles back within eight, 42-34, Georgia.
Shooting woes in the second half for Georgia helped the Lady Eagles, but the Lady Bulldogs managed to get 11 points off the bench compared to Georgia Southern's four. Navarro hit a jumper and then converted on the three-point play for a UGA 47-37 score with just under seven minutes to play. The Lady Bulldogs would capitalize on a Georgia Southern scoring drought over the next three minutes to extend their lead again. Frye and Smith added three-pointers in the last three minutes for the 58-43 final.
The Lady Eagles play host to Mercer for their season home opener Tuesday, November 16th, at 7 p.m. Single-game tickets are available at the ticket windows at Hanner Fieldhouse one hour prior to tip-off and are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Fans may also purchase a flex plan - five tickets for $25 - which allows tickets to be used for either men's or women's games. Fans may use all five tickets at one game or split them between games.
East Carolina 80, Western Carolina 76
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball (0-2) battled with visiting East Carolina (1-1) only to drop a close decision 80-76 Sunday in the Ramsey Center.
Redshirt sophomore Janae' McKinney was instrumental in the Western Carolina's flurried comeback. With the Catamounts trailing by 10, 42-32, at the half, the forward from Columbus, Ga. scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half and pulled down 11 rebounds, both career highs, and her first career double-double.
Kaila'Shea Menendez ended the game with her second double figure scoring outing in as many games, leading all scorers with 21 points, which ties her career high. She was also 9-of-13 from the free throw line.
McKinney and Menendez were two of five Catamounts who scored in double figures. Senior Kendra Carroll followed with 15 points, Caitlin Hollifield had 11, just missing a double- double with nine rebounds and Emily Clarke round it out with 10. After sitting out most of the first half with two fouls, Hollifield opened the second half with a bucket that started a 14-6 run by WCU to tie the game at 48 with 15:23 left in the game.
The two teams were nip and tuck for the next seven minutes, and Western Carolina got a boost when East Carolina's Ashley Clarke was called for a technical foul with 8:06 left. Menendez had a chance to give Western Carolina the lead, but hit just one of two free throws to tie the game at 63, the third of five ties in the contest.
Western Carolina took its first lead of the game with 7:56 left when Carroll hit one of two free throws. It was in the midst of a 3-0 run, however, the Catamounts had missed the chance to pull ahead further as they took three trips to the charity stripe and was 3-of-6.
In the final eight minutes of the game, the score was tied two more times. Knotted at 75, with 3:36 remaining, thanks to a made lay-up and free throw, off a foul, by Crystal Wilson, the Pirates of East Carolina took the lead for good with 3:04 left. Kim Gay nailed a lay-up in the paint, two of her 20 points in the contest, to give East Carolina the lead.
Western Carolina did cut the ECU lead back down to one, off one of two free throws by Menendez, but East Carolina quickly answered with a lay-up by Shala Hodges. Trailing by three, Western Carolina fouled Ashley Clarke, with 15 seconds left, and she hit one of two free throws to keep the game out of reach.
After committing 18 turnovers in the first half, Western Carolina came out in the second half and had just five. The Catamounts however, had to contend with 16 East Carolina steals and also had 23 turnovers to the Pirate's 16. ECU scored 24 points off of Catamount miscues.
Both teams had a solid presence in the paint, each scoring 36 points inside. East Carolina got solid play form its bench, scoring 33 points from its reserves to Western Carolina's 15.
Western Carolina did win the rebounding with 44 to East Carolina's 38. The team also stepped it up in the field, after shooting 34.6 percent in the first half, Western Carolina upped its percentage in the second half with 46.9 percent and ending the game at 41.4 percent. East Carolina ended the contest shooting 40.3.
The Catamounts head out on the road for a mid-week match-up on Wednesday taking on rival UNC Asheville. Tip time is set for 7:05 p.m.
Virginia Tech 93, Wofford 53
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia Tech had six players score in double-digits en route to a 93-53 win over the Wofford College Terriers Sunday afternoon in the Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies received five ten point efforts from Nia Evans, Shanel Harrison, Aerial Wilson, Alyssa Fenyn and Taylor Ayers. Monet Tellier led the VaTech with 11 points.
Wofford received double digit efforts from three players -- April Moorhouse and Mahagony Williams had 12 points, while Jessica Escorza chipped in 11 points.
Va Tech opened the scoring five seconds into the game with two free throws by Tellier, as they opened up a 19-3 lead six minutes into the contest. The Terriers only basket was a three from Moorhouse during the stretch.
The Hokies extended their lead to 22, 26-4, with 11:48 remaining, but Wofford went on an 11-6 run over the next three minutes to cut the lead to 19, 32-13. Wofford pulled within 18 on back-to-back baskets by Rachel Brittenham and Fanchon Sartor two minutes later.
VaTech responded by taking the margin to its peak in the first half at 26, 44-18, with 1:51 to play on an Aerial Wilson layup, as the Hokies carried a 44-22 lead into the locker rooms at the break.
Wofford shot a 25 percent from the floor converting only seven of their 28 attempts in the half and 20 percent from three making two of their ten shots. Virginia Tech shot 44 percent (17-of-38) overall and 33 percent (2-of-6) from three in the half. They also made all eight of their free throw attempts.
In the second, the Terriers notched only a made free throw by Moorhouse until the 11:18 mark when Williams knocked down a jumper. The Hokies had opened the half with a 16-3 run taking a 62-25 lead following the Williams basket. A minute and a half later, VaTech had their largest lead, 43, of the game on a Kyani White made field goal to make it 68-25.
The Hokies allowed the margin back under 40 a few times before the final buzzer, but finished with a 40 point win, 93-53, over the Terriers.
The Terriers finished the game with a 30 percent field goal percentage (17-of-55) and a 22 percent three-point percentage (4-of-18), while the Hokies shot a sizzling 50 percent from the floor (36-of-71) and 44 percent (4-of-9) from behind the three-point arc. VaTech missed only one free throw in the contest going 17-of-18 from the charity stripe.
Wofford gave up 56 points in the paint compared to their own 26 points, and the Hokies took advantage of 25 Terrier turnovers to score 28 points. Wofford scored 11 points off of 16 Virginia Tech turnovers.
VaTech controlled the boards holding a 44-31, plus 13, rebounding margin in the contest. They had 15 offensive rebounds and scored 25 second chance points. Wofford was only able to score four points off of 12 offensive rebounds.
Williams had the game's only double-double for the Terriers as she added 11 rebounds to go along with her 12 points. Williams also added a game-high three blocked shots.
For the Hokies all but two players who entered the game scored points. Despite not being on of those players, Nikki Davis dished out six assists, and Fenyn tallied eight assists and five steals.
Wofford has never beaten an ACC team going 0-18 all-time against the conference.
The Terriers will return to the friendly confines of the Ben Johnson Arena Wednesday with tip off schedule for 6 p.m. against Campbell. The Terriers look to snap an 0-5 streak to the Camels.
Arkansas 68, Davidson 55
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and Kristen Johnsen (Wayne, Pa.) combined for 30 points, but Davidson was done in by 33 turnovers as the Wildcats dropped a 68-55 decision at Arkansas in women's basketball action on Sunday afternoon at the Bud Walton Arena.
Davidson fell to 0-2 to start the 2010-11 campaign as it finished up the program's first trip to the state of Arkansas.
Aleksandravicius tied for game-high honors with 18 points, but got just two of those in the second half as she was held to two shots the whole half. The sophomore post player also hauled in a team-high six boards and picked up all three of the Wildcats' blocked shots.
Johnsen clipped the double-digit mark for the second straight game, eighth of her career, with 12 points as she was perfect from the field. The junior went 4-of-4 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, while also filling the stat sheet with five boards, four assists and three steals.
Arkansas (2-0) put four players in double digits, led by Lyndsay Harris' 18 points. She got 15 of those from behind the arc on 5-of-11 shooting. C'eira Ricketts followed with 14 points.
Johnsen helped the Wildcats cut a seven-point halftime deficit to one, 37-36, by scoring six points in an opening 10-4 run to start the new period.
But it was short-lived, as Arkansas went on for a game-changing 12-0 run of its own in a three-minute spurt, while then turning up the pressure on Davidson defensively. During an eight-minute stretch, the Wildcats were forced into numerous turnovers by a full-court press and had to burn two timeouts. The Wildcats were held without a field goal for nearly eight minutes, scoring just three points from the free throw line during the drought.
In the meantime, the Razorbacks had pushed a one-point lead out to 18 at 55-37 with 9:38 left in the game.
A pair of Johnsen free throws with 2:19 left got the 'Cats back to within nine at 61-52. Arkansas though, pushed its lead back out to double digits on its next possession and finished out scoring seven of the final 10 points for the 68-55 win.
Aleksandravicius dominated inside and kept Davidson close throughout the first period. The sophomore forward hit four of her first six field goals and all three free throws for 11 early points as the 'Cats trailed just 18-16 midway through the half. She finished 6-of-10 for the half, hitting all four free throws, for 16 points.
Later in the half, Aleksandravicius' second three-point play of the period brought the 'Cats back to within three, 27-24, after Arkansas jumped back out to a six-point lead. Then thirty seconds later, the sophomore dished off a nice back-door pass to Johnsen and the 'Cats were down just one, 27-26, with 2:30 on the clock.
The Razorbacks took advantage of a couple Wildcat turnovers in the closing two minutes for a 33-26 halftime lead.
Davidson shot the ball well, shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 13-for-16 from the charity stripe. The 'Cats again showed their unselfishness, dishing out assists on 16 of their 20 field goals. led by Laura Murray's (Harrisburg, Pa.) six dimes.
Davidson returns home for its home-opener on Friday, Nov. 19 when the 'Cats play host to William & Mary at 7 p.m. in John M. Belk Arena. The two teams played at Williams & Mary last year, with the Wildcats dropping a 74-63 decision.