Box Score
Box Score

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ELON, N.C. – Behind a raucous crowd of elementary school students, the Elon University women’s basketball team came away with its fourth straight Education Day victory on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 27, as the Phoenix topped the Southern Virginia Knights, 78-45, inside Alumni Gym.

Winners of eight out of its last nine games, Elon improves to 14-6 with the victory. Southern Virginia drops to 6-12 with the setback.

“There were several highlights from today's game, but one of the most important things for me was having the opportunity to talk to the kids prior to the game about what it means to be a student-athlete and what it means to work hard,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. "Not only work hard on the court, but in the classroom. The most important thing is staying positive and having fun in any sport, and I'm glad our team had the opportunity to speak to that today."

Ali Ford led all scorers with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three makes from beyond the arc, while Kelsey Evans recorded her 10th career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 boards.

Lei Lei Hairston was the third Phoenix player to score in double digits, tallying 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.

Elon put a total of 10 players in the scoring column in the victory, as the Phoenix shot 42 percent from the field and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line. The Elon bench outscored its SVU counterparts, 39-11, in the win.

Tiara Gause played in her first game since Jan. 3 in the victory, totaling 15 minutes of action for the Phoenix.

“We have three games in five days and we just came off five games in 10 days, so we were dependent on our bench to step up for us and they did a great job,” Barefoot added. “We were excited to get Tiara [Gause] out there today and see her create pressure on defense and get after it. She’s a great defensive player for us and it’s very important for her to get her rhythm back as we move forward.”

Elon took a double-digit lead and never looked back with 5:36 remaining in the first half, as a three-ball from Ford gave the Phoenix a 24-13 advantage.

Elon led 38-16 at intermission after scoring 18 points off 15 Southern Virginia turnovers in the opening frame and claiming a 20-4 advantage in the paint. The Phoenix outscored SVU 42-8 in the paint in the game and racked up 36 points off turnovers and 19 second chance points.

With its non-conference schedule in the rearview mirror, the Phoenix jumps back into Southern Conference action on Saturday. Elon will head to Cullowhee, N.C. for its second meeting of the season with the Western Carolina Catamounts, who topped the Phoenix at home earlier this season. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside the Ramsey Center.