Marshall 52, Furman 46

HUNTINGTON, W.VA. -- Norrisha Victrum scored 13 points and Marshall held Furman scoreless in a six-minute stretch in the second half to post a 52-46 victory in women’s basketball action Thursday afternoon at the Cam Henderson Center.

With the win Marshall (6-5) avenged last year’s loss to Furman (3-7), which dropped its sixth straight game.  The Paladins’ last victory came on Nov. 24 against Mercer in Greenville.

Furman, which went nine minutes in the first half without scoring during a 16-0 Marshall run, trailed 26-19 at intermission but managed to overcame a pair of eight-point second half deficits to tie the game at 33-33 on a Holli Wilkins layup with 12 minutes remaining.

A Brittany Hodges layup at the 9:49 mark knotted the game at 37-37, but from that point the Paladins failed to keep pace, going over six minutes without scoring. 

Marshall filled the void with an 8-0 spurt punctuated by a Shay Weaver 3-pointer, a Victrum three-point play, and Veronica Ruiz layup with 4:41 to go to take a 45-37 advantage.

An Alexis Peterson layup at the 3:38 juncture ended the Paladin scoring drought and made it a 45-39 game, and the sophomore forward’s two free throws less than a minute later cut the Herd’s lead to 45-41.  That would be as close as Furman would get, however, as Marshall closed out the Paladins at the free throw line over the final two minutes.

The Paladins were paced in scoring by freshman Holli Wilkins’ career high 12 points.  Brittany Hodges followed with nine points and a game high 10 rebounds.

Furman connected on 19-of-59 shots (32.2 percent) and forged a 44-39 rebounding advantage in the contest but was charged with 20 turnovers.

The Herd made just 17-of-56 field goal attempts (30.4 percent) but outscored the Paladins by 10 points at the three throw line, connecting on 15-of-22 tries while Furman knocked down 5-of-7 attempts.

Campbell 79, Elon 69

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Despite a career-high 26 points by Kelsey Evans, the Elon women’s basketball (4-5) team was not able to outlast Campbell (9-2) tonight, Dec. 20, as the Lady Camels took a 79-69 win in Gore Arena.

Campbell went 32-of-61 from the field for an impressive 52 percent shooting clip. The Phoenix shot 40 percent after making 25-of-62. The Lady Camels won the battle on the boards, 41-33, and scored 22 of its points off fast breaks.

Evans’ fell just shy of a double-double with a team-high nine boards and recorded another career-high after making 10 of her 16 field goal attempts. The senior finished with one block in the game to reach 182 for her career (22 this season) and move into second on Elon’s all-time list.

Ali Ford and Shon Redmond also finished in double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Zora Stephenson notched a new career high with a game-high seven assists, while Ford recorded six on the night

Campbell took the early advantage in the game and led by nine, 15-6, at the 11:42 mark before the Phoenix began to chip away at the deficit. A layup by Kelsey Harris and a jumper by Ford pulled the maroon and gold within two, 19-17, before a three by Stephenson gave Elon its first lead of the game, 20-19, with 6:34 on the clock.

Ford’s third three of the half gave the Phoenix its largest lead of the game, making it a 36-27 advantage with a minute and a half to play and capped a 25-8 run for Elon. After the first 20 minutes, the maroon and gold led the Lady Camels by six, 32-28.

Both Ford and Evans scored in double figures in the first half with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Stephenson tallied five of her six assists in the first frame.

Campbell shot 48 percent from the field in the first, while Elon shot a 55 percent clip from beyond the arc. The Lady Camels held the advantage on the boards, 21-16.

CU came out strong again at the top of the second frame to tie the score at 40 and then take a four-point lead, 49-45, with 13:37 on the clock. A steal by Harris followed by an Evans’ layup put the Phoenix back within one, 49-48, with under 13 to play.

With the Lady Camels leading by seven, 60-53, baskets by Redmond and Evans and a freebie by Harris cut the deficit to two for Elon, 60-58, with 5:34 left in the game. Campbell then managed a 7-0 run to take control of the game and win with a final 10-point advantage.

Elon will continue its road swing with a game after the holiday at East Carolina on Saturday, Dec. 29. Tip is scheduled for 3 p.m.