Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Elon Tops Southern Virginia, 78-45

ELON, N.C. - Behind a raucous crowd of elementary school students, the Elon University women's basketball team came away with its fourth straight Education Day victory on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 27, as the Phoenix topped the Southern Virginia Knights, 78-45, inside Alumni Gym.

Winners of eight out of its last nine games, Elon improves to 14-6 with the victory. Southern Virginia drops to 6-12 with the setback.

"It was an amazing crowd today and we would love to have them back every game," said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. "It was very exciting for our team to play in such a great atmosphere while having the opportunity to get everyone involved in the game."

Ali Ford led all scorers with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three makes from beyond the arc, while Kelsey Evans recorded her 10th career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 boards.

Lei Lei Hairston was the third Phoenix player to score in double digits, tallying 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.

Elon put a total of 10 players in the scoring column in the victory, as the Phoenix shot 42 percent from the field and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line. The Elon bench outscored its SVU counterparts, 39-11, in the win.

Tiara Gause played in her first game since Jan. 3 in the victory, totaling 15 minutes of action for the Phoenix.

Elon took a double-digit lead and never looked back with 5:36 remaining in the first half, as a three-ball from Ford gave the Phoenix a 24-13 advantage.

Elon led 38-16 at intermission after scoring 18 points off 15 Southern Virginia turnovers in the opening frame and claiming a 20-4 advantage in the paint. The Phoenix outscored SVU 42-8 in the paint in the game and racked up 36 points off turnovers and 19 second chance points.

With its non-conference schedule in the rearview mirror, the Phoenix jumps back into Southern Conference action on Saturday. Elon will head to Cullowhee, N.C. for its second meeting of the season with the Western Carolina Catamounts, who topped the Phoenix at home earlier this season. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside the Ramsey Center.