Elon 74, VCU 58

ELON, N.C. – A 29-5 run that spanned just over 14 minutes through both halves helped the Elon women’s basketball team (1-1) to a 74-58 win in its home opener over VCU (0-1) tonight, Nov. 12, in Alumni Gym.

Kelsey Evans recorded a career-high 17 rebounds and finished with 13 points for a double-double. The senior also dished out a career-high four assists and tied her career high of five blocks.

Four Elon players scored in double figures with Ali Ford leading the contest with 21 points. Ford connected on 7-of-11 from the field and knocked down all four of her attempts from the charity stripe. Kelsey Harris and Zora Stephenson tallied 14 and 11 points for the Phoenix, respectively. Newcomer Jessica Farmer scored five points and brought down six boards, while Shon Redmond finished with four steals.

As a team, Elon shot 41 percent from the field and scored 20 points off turnovers. The Phoenix defense recorded 10 blocks and 13 steals to keep the Rams at a 30 percent shooting clip.

With the score knotted at 20 with 10:51 remaining in the half, the Rams scored the next 12 points before a basket by Redmond at the 6:30 mark stopped the VCU run. Down by 10, Elon went on a 12-2 charge, capped by a three from Ford to pull even with the Rams with just over a minute left in the half. A jumper by Redmond with five seconds remaining put the Phoenix on top, 36-35, to end the first 20.

The Phoenix carried that momentum into the second half, opening up a 12-point advantage, 49-37, off a Sam Coffer bucket with 12 minutes to play. A three by VCU’s Jessica Pellechio cut Elon’s lead to seven, 49-42, but back-to-back scores by Ford quickly put the maroon and gold back up by 12 with under 10 remaining in the contest. The Phoenix outscored the Rams 38-23 in the second half to win by a 16-point differential.

Elon continues its four-game home stand when it hosts UNC Wilmington on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.

Campbell 55, Western Carolina 40

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women’s basketball (1-1) dropped its home opener 55-40 to Campbell University (2-0) Monday in the Ramsey Center.

The Catamounts suffered from shooting woes hitting just 27.7 percent from the field. Campbell ended the game hitting 41.7 percent.

Both teams seemed to be circling each other like a pair of prize fighters, to start the game, but Campbell soon found its rhythm and set the pace for the game. Tied at seven, with 12:53 left in the first half, the Camels reeled off seven unanswered points to build a 14-7 lead. In a stretch of six plus minutes Campbell went on a 13-2 run to build an 11 point advantage, 20-9.

A lay-up by Campbell’s Keira Gaines, at the buzzer to end the half, gave the Camels its largest lead of the game, 27-15, heading into the locker room. The scoring spurt by Campbell, mid-way through the first half, really put Western Carolina behind and the Catamounts were attempting to play catch-up the rest of the game.

Campbell surged to its largest lead of the game with 11:45 left in the contest, leading the Catamounts by 19, 20-39. Western Carolina proved it had fight in the game, going on a run of its own, outscoring the Camels 16-3 to shave their lead to six, 42-36 with 4:51 left in the game.

Junior guard Rena Wakama started the run for the Catamounts hitting a jumper and completing the old fashioned three-point play after being fouled. Sophomore Ali Lane hit two three-pointers in the scoring stretch, including pair of free throws to cap off the Catamounts scoring onslaught.

A three pointer by Campbell’s Zena Lovette put the Camels up by nine, 45-36. Western Carolina wouldn’t get any closer in the contest.

Campbell ripped down 39 rebounds to Western Carolina’s 27. The Catamounts hit five three pointers in the game two each from Lane and Wakama and one from junior Hana Haden.

Western Carolina had two players score in double figures with Wakama leading the team with 14 points and Lane adding 10. Junior forward Shauna Terry’s two blocks in the game gives her 71 in her career and moves her to fifth place in the Catamount record books.

Western Carolina heads on the road this Saturday taking on Coastal Carolina. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard on the Chateicleer Radio Network and catamountsports.com will be providing a live blog for the game.

Florida State 77, Samford 42

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Samford junior guard Kendall Schwantz scored a career-high 19 points, but it was not enough as the Bulldog women’s basketball team opened the 2012-13 regular season with a 77-42 loss at Florida State Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Schwantz made 8-of-11 shots from the floor and 3-of-4 from three-point range in the first start of her collegiate career. Following Schwantz for Samford, junior guard Shelby Campbell scored seven points, and sophomore Taylor Reece added six points. Senior Hannah Dawson dished out a career-high six assists in the loss.

For Florida State, Chasity Clayton led the way with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Chelsea Davis scored 16 points for the Seminoles, while Alexa Deluzio added 12 points for FSU.

In the first half, Samford jumped out to an early 7-4 lead with 15:42 left in the first half, with Schwantz scoring all seven of Samford’s points. The game remained close until, with Samford leading 11-10, FSU went on a 13-0 run to take a 23-11 lead with 9:23 to go in the first half after a basket by Leonor Rodriguez.

Florida State built its lead to as much as 21 points in the first half at 38-17 with 2:57 left in the half after a three-pointer by Deluzio. The Seminoles carried a 42-23 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Florida State quickly pushed its lead out to 24 points at 51-27 with 16:07 left in the game following a three-pointer by Rodriguez. The Seminoles led by as much as 37 points in the second half at 77-40 with less than a minute to go after a layup by Morgan Toles.

As a team, Samford shot 30.4 percent from the floor and just 23.5 percent from three-point range. Florida State made 46.2 percent of its shots overall and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Samford committed 18 turnovers in the loss, while forcing the Seminoles into 20 turnovers. Florida State outrebounded Samford, 54-21, with the Seminoles grabbing 20 offensive rebounds, to just four for Samford.

Samford will return to action on Monday, Nov. 19, when the Bulldogs play at in-state rival Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from Jacksonville, Ala., and it can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.

UConn 103, College of Charleston 39

STORRS, Conn. – Three College of Charleston women’s basketball players scored in double figures, but the Cougars fell 103-39 against the No. 2 ranked University of Connecticut Huskies.

Junior Alyssa Frye led the Cougars (1-1) with 14 points. Senior Latisha Harris scored the first basket of the game and added 13 and junior Afreyea Tolbert scored 10 points.

Freshman Breanna Stewart, the 2012 High School Girl’s Player of the Year, led Connecticut (1-0) with 21 points.

Up next the Cougars travel to East Carolina Saturday Nov. 17 for a 2:00 p.m. game.