Elon 70, Virginia Union 46
ELON, N.C. – Charlotte Smith earned her first win as Elon head women’s basketball coach in impressive fashion on Saturday, Nov. 12, as the Phoenix used a second-half surge to cruise to a 70-46 win over Virginia Union inside Alumni Gym in the regular-season opener for both squads.
Overall, it feels great to get the victory today. It took some time for us to pull away but we’re excited with the win and we know there’s still a lot of room to get better.”
Juniors Ali Ford and Kelsey Evans led the Phoenix offense in the win, as the preseason all-conference selections combined for 40 points in the victory. Ford led all scorers with 26 points on 7-of-19 shooting, including a 5-of-13 clip from three-point land. Evans recorded her 16th career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 boards and three blocks in the win.
After shooting just 29 percent from the field in the first half, the Phoenix offense found a rhythm in the final frame after shooting 45 percent from the field, including 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Elon shot 61 percent (19-of-31) from the free throw line in the win, as Evans and Ford went a combined 15-for-18 at the charity stripe.
Lisa Archie and Kelsey Harris both had stellar games on the boards for the Phoenix, as Archie pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds and Harris registered a career-best 10 for the maroon and gold.
Elon took a five-point lead into the locker room at intermission after shooting just 29 percent (9-of-31) in the first half.
The Phoenix quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead in the second period after a Harris steal led to a transition layup to give Elon a 44-33 advantage with 13:58 remaining.
Virginia Union managed to pull back within four points with 10:36 to play on an Ashle Freeman bucket, but a 10-2 Elon run, capped off by a Ford three-ball, gave Elon a 54-42 lead with seven minutes to play.
Elon never looked back from that point forward, as the Phoenix closed the game on a 16-4 run to secure the win.
Elon is back in action on Friday night, Nov. 18, when the Phoenix welcomes Virginia Intermont to Alumni Gym. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.
Samford 57, No. 18 DePaul 86
CHICAGO, Ill.—The Samford women’s basketball team fell at 18th-ranked DePaul, 86-57, Saturday evening in the championship game of the Maggie Dixon Classic at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
With the loss, Samford falls to 1-1 on the season. DePaul improves to 2-0.
Samford was led by Ruth Ketcham with 14 points and five rebounds. Jazmine Powers and Shelby Campbell scored 10 points each for the Bulldogs.
For DePaul, Keisha Hampton scored 20 points, while Anna Martin chipped in 19 for the Blue Demons. Katherine Harry scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds for DePaul.
After the team’s traded three-pointers to start the game, DePaul went on a 10-0 run to take a 13-3 lead with 14:57 to go in the first half after a pair of free throws by Hampton. Samford fought back to cut the lead to 13-7 with 12:50 left in the opening half after a layup by Jazmine Martin.
DePaul then went on a 13-3 run to push its lead out to 16 points at 26-10 with 9:05 to go in the half following a three-pointer by Megan Rogowski. After Samford cut the lead back to 12 at 26-14, DePaul went on a 13-0 run to increase its lead to 39-14 with 4:11 to go before halftime after a layup by Martin. DePaul took a 46-19 lead into halftime.
In the second half, DePaul pushed its lead out to 33 at 55-22 with 16:54 left after a free throw by Hampton. The Blue Demons led by as much as 39 points in the second half at 79-40 at the 6:51 mark.
Samford fought back to cut the lead to 27 points at 83-56 with 2:48 left after a three-pointer by Kendall Schwantz. The Bulldogs, however, could get no closer as DePaul came away with the 86-57 win.
Samford committed 25 turnovers in the loss, compared to 16 for DePaul. The Bulldogs shot 40 percent overall and 39.1 percent from three-point range.
Samford will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 16, when the Bulldogs play at Alabama State. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off from Montgomery, Ala.