LYNCHBURG, VA -- The Phoenix went to Liberty looking to upset the five-time defending champs, but poor shooting led to a 57-45 loss to the Lady Flames on Valentine's night. Elon (14-11, 9-3) shot only 23.1 percent for the game, holding Liberty to 32.1 percent shooting, just enough to get by the Phoenix.

Elon took the early lead, opening up an eight-point lead on a three from Holly Andrews (game-high 17 points, two steals) at the 16:57 mark. The Phoenix connected on five of their first seven shots. From their the shooting woes would begin. Elon's last field goal of the half would come at the 14:22 mark when Andrews netted a jumper to give the Phoenix a 14-7 advantage. Elon would only sink seven free throws for the rest of the half and trail the Lady Flames 26-21 at the break. LU only connected on eight field goals in the first frame.

The Phoenix would battle back in the second half, tying the contest on another Andrews jumper with 13:35 left in the game. Liberty would use a 14-5 run over the next nine minutes, another span that saw Elon go without a field goal, to open up a 44-34 advantage with 4:39 left to play. Elon would cut the lead to eight with just under a minute left, but could get no closer.

Courtney Nyborg scored five points and grabbed a team-high nine reboiunds for Elon while Jayme Chikos netted eight points and grabbed five boards.

Liberty's Kristal Tharp scored 11 points and Meribeth Feenstra blocked five shots and pulled down 10 caroms.

The Phoenix will finish the regular season with two home contests next week. The first will be Tuesday night against Radford at 7:00 p.m.

Game Box Score

Big South Conference Standings