Box Score
Click Here to Watch Ford's Game-Winning Shot

Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Ali Ford envisioned her first-ever buzzer-beater would be a three-pointer as the clock ran to zero and the crowd went wild. Tonight, Ford settled for a layup off the backboard through a UNC Greensboro defender for her first-career walk-off shot, allowing the Elon University women’s basketball team to walk out of Fleming Gym a 63-61 winner on Wednesday night in front of a raucous crowd in Greensboro.

“When I turned and saw there was less than five seconds on the scoreboard I knew I had to get something off and I couldn’t see anything but the bottom corner of the square on the backboard,” Ford said. “I just kept saying to myself “get the ball, get the ball” after we couldn’t get Aiesha [Harper] open and I was able to get something off and it ended up going in.”

Elon inbounded the ball with 6.5 seconds remaining following a UNCG turnover, and after Ford couldn’t get an open look to get teammate Aiesha Harper the ball, the Morganton, N.C. native drove to the rim, flipped the ball up and proved to be the hero on Wednesday night as the ball landed in the basket as the buzzer sounded.

The victory for Elon is its seventh straight in Southern Conference play and improves the team’s record to 12-5 overall this season and 7-2 in league play. UNCG drops to 9-8 (6-3 SoCon) with the setback.

Prior to Ford’s game-winner, Lei Lei Hairston hit the game’s most important shot with 31 seconds left following a Phoenix timeout, as Hairston connected on Elon’s only three pointer of the contest to knot it at 61-all.

The Phoenix defense forced a pair of key turnovers in the two minutes to help the team secure the victory and remain atop the SoCon standings.

Ford played limited minutes in the victory due to foul trouble and finished with nine points, but Harper came off the bench and provided the spark the Phoenix needed in her absence. Harper scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field in 29 minutes of action, while also dishing out three assists and recording two steals.

“Tonight is a perfect example of why you play the game,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “We were down by as many as 11 points tonight and just kept playing hard and chipping away. Ali is a gamer and one of those players you want to have the ball in these types of situations and she made a great play.”

Hairston finished with a game-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field to go along with seven boards and three blocks, while Kelsey Evans tallied a game-high 11 boards and five blocks in the win. Evans has recorded five blocks in a game three times this season, as the Phoenix sent back 11 shots by the Spartans on the night to put its season total at 104.

Shon Redmond was the third Phoenix player in double figures with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.

“Along with Ali’s game-winner we hit several key shots tonight,” Barefoot added. “Lei Lei’s three-pointer was big and Aiesha’s drive to the basket late was great. We really fought hard against a very talented team tonight and came away with a great win.”

With Ford in foul trouble early and playing just four minutes in the first half, Harper came off the bench and helped limit UNCG to a one-point lead at the half. Harper scored a game-high 10 points in the opening frame on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and sunk two free throws.

Elon shot 52.0 percent from the field in the first half and out-rebounded UNCG, 23-18. But turnovers proved to be the difference, as the Spartans committed only four compared to Elon’s 11 first half turnovers.

After Ford split a pair of free throws just 13 seconds into the second half, the Spartans answered with a 6-0 run to put the Phoenix down, 36-30, forcing Barefoot to regroup her squad and call a timeout with 17:17 remaining.

The Spartans took a 10-point advantage with 13:04 to play in the game after Brey Dorsett hit a baseline jumper to put the Phoenix down, 44-34.

UNC Greensboro forced another Elon timeout with 8:28 remaining in the game after a Sarah Folwell layup following a Phoenix turnover made it a 53-43 game.

Redmond helped the Phoenix claw back in the game and force a UNCG timeout with 7:19 to play after back-to-back baskets limited the Spartans to a 53-47 lead. Elon pulled within five points with under six minutes to play after an offensive board by Hairston following an Elon missed free throw made it a 56-51 game.

Ford helped make it a two-point game with 2:28 left on the clock after connecting on a jumper to limit the Spartans to a 58-56 lead.

The Phoenix’s defense proved to make the difference down the stretch, as Elon forced two key UNCG turnovers in the final 2:01 to get the possessions it needed in crunch time to overcome an 11-point deficit – the largest the team has overcome in any victory this season.

Elon returns home on Saturday, Jan. 22, when it hosts College of Charleston at 2 p.m. inside Alumni Gym.