GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Kitara McMoore netted a game-high 21 points and grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the year and Tierra Bumbrey added 12 markers and four assists to help guide Elon to a 50-47 SoCon victory over Furman on Tuesday night at Timmons Arena. The win, coach Brenda Paul's 150th victory at Elon, improved the Phoenix to 12-14 overall and 7-10 in league play. The Lady Paladins fell to 9-18, 5-12.
The first half featured four ties and four lead changes as the two teams battled evenly. The largest lead of the period was four for Furman three times, the latest occasion came with 9:46 to play in the half when Chrissy Phelps drained a jumper to put the Lady Paladins ahead 21-17.
A jumper by McMoore, a three point basket from Myra Donkin and a Bumbrey layup gave Elon its largest lead of the half at 24-21 with 5:45 to play in the stanza. Furman's Tommi Paris quickly evened the score at 24 when she hit a three at the 4:21 mark.
Furman would outscore Elon 5-2 over the final 4:21 to hold a 29-26 advantage at halftime.
The Phoenix opened the second half with a 16-5 run to build a 42-34 lead with 8:23 to play. A Phelps jumper with 6:37 to play snapped a 10:25 scoreless streak for the Lady Paladins and trimmed the lead to 42-36.
After two Paris free throws edged the Furman to with in four, Bumbrey answered with a jumper to push the margin back to six points at 44-38. Two more made free throws by Furman's Melynda Gant cut the deficit to four at the 3:30 mark, but again Elon had an answer as Katie Whidden put home a jumper.
Two free throws from Gant and a three from Paris had Furman with in one point at 46-45 with 1:14 to play. On its ensuing possesion, McMoore fed Bumbrey for a layup and a three point cushion. The Lady Paladins came back down the floor and cut the lead back to one when Paris made a layup. The Phoenix once again answered. On this possession it was Bumbrey feeding McMoore on the block for the layup and the final score of the game.
Furman missed two three point baskets in the final seconds and Elon picked up the victory.
Furman's offense was led by Paris who netted 16 points while Gant ended the day with 10 markers and a team-high seven rebounds.
Elon held Furman to just 17.9 percent shooting in the second half and 28.6 percent for the game. The Phoenix connected on 46.8 percent of its shots in the win. Elon held advantages in rebounding (39-32) and assists (11-9) while Furman bested the Phoenix in turnovers (13-19), blocks (2-1) and steals (5-3).
The Phoenix made only one three point field goal to extend its streak to 169 consecutive games with at least one three made.
Elon will finish its regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Appalachian State from Alumni Gym. The Phoenix will honor its two seniors prior to the game.
-- ELON -- Game Box Score
