Box Score

ELON, N.C. – Charlotte Smith earned her first win as Elon head women’s basketball coach in impressive fashion on Saturday, Nov. 12, as the Phoenix used a second-half surge to cruise to a 70-46 win over Virginia Union inside Alumni Gym in the regular-season opener for both squads.
 
“We came out of the gates a little bit slow today, so we’ll need to work on coming out more focused on our defense and rebounding moving forward,” Smith said. “We had a lot more intensity in the second half and our team did an incredible job on the boards.
 
Overall, it feels great to get the victory today. It took some time for us to pull away but we’re excited with the win and we know there’s still a lot of room to get better.”
 
Juniors Ali Ford and Kelsey Evans led the Phoenix offense in the win, as the preseason all-conference selections combined for 40 points in the victory. Ford led all scorers with 26 points on 7-of-19 shooting, including a 5-of-13 clip from three-point land. Evans recorded her 16th career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 boards and three blocks in the win.
 
After shooting just 29 percent from the field in the first half, the Phoenix offense found a rhythm in the final frame after shooting 45 percent from the field, including 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
 
Elon shot 61 percent (19-of-31) from the free throw line in the win, as Evans and Ford went a combined 15-for-18 at the charity stripe.
 
Lisa Archie and Kelsey Harris both had stellar games on the boards for the Phoenix, as Archie pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds and Harris registered a career-best 10 for the maroon and gold.
 
Elon took a five-point lead into the locker room at intermission after shooting just 29 percent (9-of-31) in the first half.
 
The Phoenix quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead in the second period after a Harris steal led to a transition layup to give Elon a 44-33 advantage with 13:58 remaining.
 
Virginia Union managed to pull back within four points with 10:36 to play on an Ashle Freeman bucket, but a 10-2 Elon run, capped off by a Ford three-ball, gave Elon a 54-42 lead with seven minutes to play.
 
Elon never looked back from that point forward, as the Phoenix closed the game on a 16-4 run to secure the win.
 
Elon is back in action on Friday night, Nov. 18, when the Phoenix welcomes Virginia Intermont to Alumni Gym. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.