Box Score
Box Score

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – The Elon University women’s basketball team dropped its final game of the 2010 calendar year on Thursday night, Dec. 30, as the Marshall Thundering Herd handed the Phoenix a 79-69 setback inside the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W. Va.

Elon falls to 6-5 with the loss, while Marshall improves to 4-8 with the win.

“Overall, we have progressed and gotten better as a team, but we still need to learn how to capitalize on other team’s mistakes,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “We played well enough to win tonight, but missed key opportunities on the boards that led to several second chance points for Marshall. Our defense was good and we managed to generate offense through our defensive effort.”

Elon forced 22 Thundering Herd turnovers in the loss and grabbed 15 steals, but Marshall dominated the glass, 52-30, which included 19 offensive boards leading to 16 second chance points.

Shon Redmond played well for the Phoenix in the loss, scoring a career-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field in her second straight start.

Elon put four players in double figures in the loss, as Ali Ford and Kelsey Evans each scored 12 points, while Tiara Gause pitched in 11 points off the bench in 20 minutes of work.

Elon started the game on a 7-0 run and didn’t allow the Thundering Herd to hit a field goal until the 15:59 mark of the first half when Tynikki Crook scored on a layup. Crook led all players with a game-high 21 points.

Evans extended Elon’s lead to five points with 8:52 remaining in the first half after her old-fashioned three-point play paved the way for a 20-15 advantage for the Phoenix.

Marshall managed to pull within a point with 2:09 remaining in the half after a jumper in the paint by Saleese Stovall made it a 27-26 game.

But the Phoenix held off the Thundering Herd to take a 33-30 lead into the locker room at intermission after shooting 44.8 percent from the field, including a 60 percent clip (3-of-5) from beyond the arc. Redmond led the Phoenix and tied for a game-high with nine points at the half on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.

The Thundering Herd managed to tie the game for the first time after Crook connected from three-point land with 19:31 remaining to knot it at 33-all. Marshall took its first lead with 17:58 left after an Elon turnover led to a fastbreak layup to make it a 35-33 game.

But Ford helped Elon regain the lead with 15:02 remaining after sinking a three off the glass in the corner in front of the Phoenix bench to make it a 40-38 game.

Evans helped the Phoenix take its largest lead of the second half with 10:01 remaining after sinking a pair of free throws on a one-and-one following a Marshall foul to make it a 52-47 game.

But the Thundering Herd stormed back over the next 58 seconds to reclaim the lead, as back-to-back three-point baskets put the Phoenix behind, 53-52, forcing Barefoot to regroup her troops and call a timeout.

Elon capitalized on a Thundering Herd turnover at midcourt to take a 60-56 advantage with 5:42 remaining after Redmond stripped Marshall’s Veronica Ruiz of the ball to lead to an easy layup for the Phoenix.

But the Thundering Herd proved to be resilient, going on a 12-0 run over the next 2:16 to take its largest lead of the game and put Elon behind, 68-60, forcing another Phoenix timeout with 3:38 left.

 The Phoenix managed to pull back within six points down the stretch, but the Thundering Herd managed to sink key free throws down the stretch, despite shooting just 51 percent from the line for the game.

Elon jumps back into league play on Monday night, Jan. 3, when it hosts the Georgia Southern Eagles for a 7 p.m. Southern Conference tilt inside Alumni Gym.