Elon 74, Chattanooga 61
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Aiesha Harper came off the bench and delivered the knockout blow for Elon University women's basketball team on Monday afternoon, Jan. 10, lifting the Phoenix to a 74-61 win over the Chattanooga Lady Mocs in Southern Conference action from the McKenzie Arena.
Harper came off the bench in the second half and reeled off eight straight points to give the Phoenix a commanding lead, one it would not relinquish down the stretch. Harper finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting from the free throw line in 15 minutes of action. Harper also registered a pair of blocks and three boards in the victory.
Elon improves to 9-5 overall and 4-2 in league play, while UTC drops to 7-9 (4-3 SoCon) with the loss. The victory is Elon's fourth straight in conference action and first over the Lady Mocs in Chattanooga.
Elon dominated the Lady Mocs on the glass, 48-26, and outscored Chattannoga 38-24 in the paint.
The Phoenix shot well from the free throw line, sinking 19-of-26 attempts (73.1 percent), while the Lady Mocs made just 5-of-8 from the line in the loss.
Sophomore forward Kelsey Evans recorded her third double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Evans shot 4-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe in the win.
Junior guard Shon Redmond led Elon with a team-high 17 points of 5-of-7 shooting from the field and a 6-for-6 performance from the free throw line. Redmond also tallied five steals, four rebounds and two assists in the win.
Sophomore guard Ali Ford scored in double figures for the 32nd time in Elon's last 33 games after finishing with 11 points. Ford also grabbed five boards and dished out four assists.
Evans helped end an early 12-0 run by the Lady Mocs with under 13 minutes to play in the first half after Redmond found her under the basket for the layup to make it a 15-6 game.
Elon limited the deficit to four with 6:59 to play after Redmond ripped UTC's Kayla Christopher of the ball and dished it ahead to Ford for the layup to make it a 17-13 game. Julie Taylor pulled the Phoenix even closer with less than five minutes remaining after connecting from beyond the arc to make it a 21-18 game.
Elon's hands-on defense paid dividends going into the locker room at the half, as Redmond ripped Chattanooga's Christopher near mid-court with less than 10 seconds left on the clock for the easy layup, limiting the Lady Mocs to a 30-28 lead at intermission. Redmond tallied five points and five steals in the opening frame, as the Phoenix shot 44.4 percent from the field.
Ford attacked the rim early in the second frame and made it a tie game about a minute into the half after sinking a pair of free throws to tie the game at 30-all. The Morganton, N.C. native scored Elon's next three points to put the Phoenix up, 35-33, for the first time since the 17:56 mark of the first half.
Redmond helped the Phoenix take a four-point lead after hitting back-to-back shots to make it a 42-38 game with less than 14 minutes to play in the second half.
Harper came off the bench midway through the second half and provided a host of problems for the Lady Mocs, scoring eight consecutive points to give the Phoenix a 54-45 advantage with less than 10 minutes to play in the game.
Taylor helped Elon take a 10-point lead with under six minutes to play after connecting on a jumper in the paint to extend the Phoenix's lead to 58-48.
The Lady Mocs managed to pull within five points with under two minutes to play, but a stingy defense effort and key free throws down the stretch proved to be the difference, as Elon left the McKenzie Arena victorious for the first time in seven tries.
Elon returns home for a game on Friday night, Jan. 14, to take on Furman. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside Alumni Gym.
Georgia Southern 73, Appalachian State 65
STATEBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team went on a 15-1 run to take a seven-point lead over Appalachian State (10-4, 4-2 SoCon) in the first half and maintained the advantage for a 73-65 victory at Hanner Fieldhouse. Redshirt freshman MiMi DuBose scored a career-high 25 points to lead all scorers while Krista Tate had 16 points to go along with a game-high seven rebounds. Lady Eagle Briana Scott also scored in double figures for a career-best 10 points.
The Lady Eagles picked up their fifth-straight win at Hanner Fieldhouse and second-straight win overall to improve to 7-10 and 4-4 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State moves to 10-4 and 4-2 in the league.
Appalachian State's Sam Ramirez had 19 points for the Mountaineers while Anna Freeman had a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists in the loss.
DuBose, with her eighth double-figure game of the season, scored the first Lady Eagle points of the night with a trey, then had five points in the final four minutes for a first-half total of 12. DuBose opened the second half in the same fashion as the first, with a trey, and later scored 10 of her 25 points in three-and-a-half-minutes to help stretch Georgia Southern's lead to as many as seven.
The Mountaineers ran off nine straight points to take the early lead from the Lady Eagles, 9-3, but Georgia Southern would respond with a 15-1 run of its own to take an 18-9 advantage midway through the half. Four points off a field goal and two free throws by Anna Freeman and a three-pointer by Ramirez put Appalachian State down by six, 16-22. A three-point play by Kelsey Sharkey cut the deficit to three, 22-19.
Senior guard Jamie Navarro hit her first trey of the night off a DuBose pass and then DuBose hit two free throws to push the GSU lead back to eight, 27-19. Appalachian State, off a layup by Ashleigh Kelly and trey by Jessica Barrios, cut the Lady Eagle lead to three again, 27-24.
DuBose and Navarro dropped in threes and Tate added two more free throws to get the Lady Eagles to their 35-point total while baskets by Anna Freeman and Ramirez closed the scoring for the Mountaineers. With total field goals even at 10 each, the 35-28 Georgia Southern lead was due in part to two additional three-pointers and a perfect 10-10 start from the free throw line.
After the two teams traded baskets in the first two minutes, Ramirez keyed a 9-2 Appalachian State run with a trey and jumper on two straight possessions. Chakeitha Weldon scored a layup and converted the three-point play as the Mountaineers pulled within three, 44-41, five minutes into the second half.
Tate hit two jumpers and Candice Ivy another to give the Lady Eagles an eight-point cushion, 51-43, at the 12-minute mark. Ramirez, Anna Freeman and Ashlen Dewart combined to make a charge at the lead again, pulling the Mountaineers within three, 51-48. Navarro hit her third three of the night, but ASU would put up six unanswered points to cut the lead to two, 56-54, with seven minutes left in the game.
Samantha Williams hit a three from a Navarro pass to put Georgia Southern back up by five. Dewart's layup from Ramirez reduced the Lady Eagle lead to three again, but DuBose would score a layup and then connect on two-of-three free throws after a foul on her three-point attempt for a 63-56 GSU advantage with 4:43 remaining.
Anna Freeman stepped behind the line for a trey before DuBose nullified it with a three of her own at 3:27, 66-59, Georgia Southern. Dewart's basket with 3:02 left in the game was the last field goal for Appalachian State as it added only four points to its total off free throws. Georgia Southern added baskets from Scott and free throws from Tate and DuBose for the final, 73-65.
The Lady Eagles edged the league's best rebounding team on the boards, 32-29 and had only 12 fouls in the game to Appalachian State's 17. GSU finished the night 16-20 from the free throw line while ASU was 14-22.
Georgia Southern plays next at Hanner Fieldhouse on Friday, January 14th, when they play host to Western Carolina at 7 p.m. The Catamounts, who were scheduled to play Wofford Monday night, had their game rescheduled for a later date due to the inclement weather.
Samford vs. UNCG, PPD
Furman vs. Davidson, PPD
Western Carolina vs. Wofford, PPD