ELON, N.C. – Kitara McMoore and Sade Jordan knocked down 16 points apiece as Elon downed Johnson C. Smith 77-60 in an exhibition women’s basketball game Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gym.
McMoore connected on seven of her 10 shots from the field and Jordan canned all five of her field goal attempts as the Phoenix fired 56.9 percent from the floor, including 64.0 percent in the first half.
The Golden Bulls forced 33 Elon turnovers, but surrendered 29 themselves while only hitting on 36.8 percent of their shots. The Phoenix made 15 of 18 free throw attempts while Johnson C. Smith finished 6-for-10 from the charity stripe. Jordan sank all six of her tries from the line.
Early on, Elon reeled off nine points in a row to break open a 4-4 stalemate and take a 13-4 advantage on a three-pointer by Jessica Williams with 14:41 to play in the first half. The Bulls stormed back with a 16-4 run to claim a 20-17 edge on a breakaway steal and lay-up by Judene Wright with 10:33 remaining in the period.
The Phoenix later exploded for a 17-2 surge to turn a 23-23 tie into a 40-25 lead on a breakaway steal and lay-up by McMoore with 58 seconds left before the intermission. Elon settled for a 42-27 advantage at halftime and went on to build a commanding 25-point cushion in the second stanza.
The contest was deadlocked four times at 2-2, 4-4, 17-17 and 23-23 with four lead changes in the first period, but the second half was all Phoenix. A 17-7 run put Elon up 61-36 on a jumper by Nicole Allison with 13:27 remaining in the contest.
The Phoenix had 15 players see action and 13 score while the Golden Bulls played 10 with eight scoring. Alexandra Schafranek chipped in 10 points to join teammates McMoore and Jordan in double digits.
McMoore pulled down a contest-best six rebounds and Jordan snagged five caroms as the Phoenix won the battle of the boards 36-31. Tierra Bumbrey dished out a game-high five assists as Elon tallied 21 assists as a team to seven for Johnson C. Smith.
Lauren Goss (14 points, five rebounds), Tiana Pope (11 points, five rebounds, game-high seven steals) and Terri Edwards (10 points) led the Golden Bulls, who snatched 24 of the game’s 39 steals and swatted all of the contest’s five blocked shots.
Elon begins the regular season when it visits No. 9 North Carolina at 7 p.m. Friday. JCSU competes in the Wingate Tournament this weekend, facing Wingate at 6 p.m. Saturday and Pfeiffer at 2 p.m. Sunday.
– ELON –
