Box Score
Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s basketball team managed to cut a 20-point Appalachian State lead down to 11 points late in the game, but the Mountaineers kept the Phoenix at arm’s length down the stretch to claim a 67-54 victory on Monday night, Jan. 24, in a key Southern Conference battle inside Alumni Gym.

Elon falls to second place in the league standings and drops to 13-6 overall and 8-3 in league action with the loss. The loss is the Phoenix’s first since Dec. 30 at Marshall and its first SoCon setback since a loss to Western Carolina on Dec. 18. The Phoenix played without starting point guard Shon Redmond and guard Tiara Gause, who has been sidelined since Jan. 3 due to injury. The Mountaineers move into first place in the SoCon with the win and improve to 15-4 overall and 9-2 in league play.

“They forced us to play from behind all night and when you miss as many free throws as we did it is extremely difficult to play catch up,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “This is a learning experience for us. They are a good team with a very good senior point guard. But we need to execute better when we have the ball and move it around more effectively when we see the traps coming.”

Kelsey Evans recorded her ninth career double-double in the win, scoring 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting and grabbing a career-high 16 boards, including nine offensive. Evans also recorded four blocks for the Phoenix, moving her to fourth all-time in Elon history with 100 total. Evans needs seven blocked shots to pass former teammate Urysla Cotton for third all-time in Elon women’s hoops history.

Ali Ford scored a game-high 19 points for Elon on 6-of-18 shooting, including three makes from beyond the arc. Ford also dished out four assists and grabbed four steals for Elon in a game-high 40 minutes of action.

Candice Silas was the third Phoenix to score in double figures after she came off the bench and scored a career-high 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes of action.

Appalachian State put four players in double figures, as Sam Ramirez led the way with 17 points, followed by Anna Freeman with 16 points. Freeman registered a game-high seven steals for the Mountaineers.

Elon shot 36.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent (5-for-16) from the free throw line in the loss. ASU finished the game with a 43.5 percent clip from the field and sunk 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) shots from the charity stripe.

"We fought hard and battled, but we cannot afford to miss easy layups against a solid team like Appalachian State," Barefoot added. "Our fans really came out strong tonight and gave us great support and made it an exciting atmosphere."

The Mountaineers forced an Elon timeout with 14:45 remaining in the first half after Ashlen Dewart worked her way open in the post for a layup to put the Phoenix behind 14-6.

Appalachian State forced another Phoenix timeout less than five minutes later after a 10-4 run made it a 24-10 game with 11:00 to play in the first half.

The Mountaineers would go ahead by as many as 18 points in the first half, but a coast-to-coast layup as time expired from Ford limited the deficit to 12 points, 35-23.

The Appalachian State defense limited Elon to 29.0 percent shooting in the opening frame and forced the Phoenix into 18 turnovers. The Mountaineers shot a blistering 51.5 percent from the field in the first half, scoring 26 points in the paint and 19 points off Elon turnovers. ASU finished the contest with 34 points in the paint and 24 points off Elon turnovers.

Freeman helped put the Mountaineers back up 18 points with under 14 minutes remaining in the second half after drilling a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Phoenix down, 49-31.

The Phoenix pulled within 11 points with 8:40 to play after Silas drove to the basket following a key offensive board to limit the Mountaineers to a 59-48 lead.

Ford found rookie Kelsey Harris under the basket for a layup with 5:30 remaining to make it a 61-50 game, but that was as close as the Phoenix would come, as the Mountaineers kept the maroon and gold at bay late in the game to secure the win.

Elon hosts the seventh annual Education Day on Thursday morning, Jan. 27, at 11 a.m. when Southern Virginia comes to Alumni Gym. The Phoenix plays three games in the next five days, as it heads to Cullowhee on Jan. 29 to face Western Carolina before another road tilt at Davidson on Jan. 31.