Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team could not overcome a late double-digit deficit against the East Carolina Lady Pirates on Sunday evening, Nov. 27, falling 60-46 on the final day of the ECU Thanksgiving Tournament.
 
“We need to be committed to boxing out and rebounding and we were not tonight. We can’t get outrebounded by 20 and expect to win the game,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “We’re missing a lot of firepower right now, but that’s no excuse and we need to get better. Going forward into SoCon play next weekend we need to remain positive and focus on the details this upcoming week in practice.”
 
Elon (2-3) could not find a match for ECU (3-2) in the post without forwards Kelsey Evans and Candice Silas, as the Lady Pirates finished the night with a 54-34 advantage on the glass en route to 32 points in the paint and 14 second-chance points.
 
Ali Ford led the maroon in gold with 12 points, all coming via three-point land. For her efforts this weekend, Ford was named to the all-tournament team.
 
Kelsey Harris was the only other Elon player in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
 
As a team, Elon shot just 33 percent from the field (18-of-54) and free throw line (6-of-18) in the setback.
 
Shala Hodges led all scorers with 15 points, while Chareya Smith finished with a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards.
 
The Elon defense limited the Lady Pirates to 35-percent shooting from the field on the night and forced ECU into 20 turnovers that led to 12 points.
 
The Pirates took their largest lead of the half with 4:39 remaining in the first half and forced an Elon timeout after a Chareya Smith layup made it a 29-15 game.
 
But the Phoenix responded toward the end of the half after back-to-back three-pointers by Ford limited ECU to a 29-21 lead with less than four minutes left.
 
The deficit remained at eight points, 32-24, at intermission, as the Phoenix shot 31 percent (10-of-32) from the field in the opening frame. The battle on the boards proved to be the deciding factor in the first 20 minutes, as the Pirates dominated the glass, 29-18, which included 11 offensive rebounds that led to 10 second-chance points.
 
After the Pirates jumped out to a 12-point lead nearly midway through the second half, Lisa Archie helped the Phoenix pull back within seven after coming up with two big blocks on defense that led to five points to make it a 41-34 game.
 
The Pirates claimed their largest lead of the game with 8:03 remaining after Janesha Ebron leaked out following a missed jumper by the Phoenix for a layup to put Elon behind, 51-36.
 
East Carolina managed to keep the Phoenix at a safe distance over the final stretch of the game, as Elon could pull no closer than 14 points. ECU held Elon without a field goal over the final 4:20 of the game.
 
Elon opens Southern Conference play at home on Saturday, Dec. 3, when preseason league favorite Chattanooga comes to Alumni Gym for a 7 p.m. tip.