Box Score
Box Score

BOONE, N.C. – The Elon University women’s basketball team dropped its Southern Conference opener on Monday night, Nov. 29, at the Holmes Center in Boone, as the Appalachian State Mountaineers topped the Phoenix, 100-67.

Elon drops to 4-2 on the year and 0-1 in league play, while Appalachian State improves to 5-1 (1-0 SoCon) with the win.

Lei Lei Hairston led the Phoenix in the setback, scoring a career-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.

Ali Ford and Shon Redmond both pitched in 11 points for Elon, while Kelsey Evans grabbed a team-best 10 boards and finished two points shy of her third straight double-double with eight points.

“We played out of sync in the first half and went down too many points early to mount a comeback,” said Elon head women’s basketball coach Karen Barefoot. “We never matched the instensity of Appalachian State's play in the first half and dug a hole for ourselves that was hard to rebound from."

The Phoenix went ahead, 5-2, in the early stages of the game after a Ford connected on a three pointer with 18:33 left. But nine straight points from the Mountaineers put the Phoenix behind, 11-5, forcing an Elon timeout with 15:30 remaining.

The Mountaineers continued to keep the pressure on the Phoenix defensively to help generate points on offense, as ASU went on a 14-5 run following the timeout to put Elon down, 25-10, with 11:22 left.

Elon trailed 49-25 at the half, marking the first time all season the Phoenix has been behind at intermission. The Mountaineers shot a blistering 60.5 percent from the field in the opening frame, while limiting the Phoenix to 33.3 percent shooting from the field. Appalachian State’s Anna Freeman led all players with 16 points in the first 20 minutes and finished with a game-high 26 points.

The Mountaineers continued to have the hot hand out of the locker room to start the second half, as ASU knocked down six of its first eight shots to go on a 16-8 run and put the Phoenix down, 64-33, with 15:22 remaining.

Appalachian State managed to keep the Phoenix at arm’s length down the stretch to secure the win in the conference opener for both squads.

Elon plays again on Thursday night, Dec. 2, when it heads to Morgantown, W. Va. for non-conference action versus No. 10 ranked West Virginia. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum.