Box Score
Box Score

ELON, N.C. – An 11-2 run by the Chattanooga Lady Mocs early in the second half proved to be too much for the Elon University women’s basketball team to overcome on Monday, Feb. 21, on Senior Night inside Alumni Gym, as the Phoenix fell, 73-63, to UTC in a Southern Conference matchup.

Tonight marked the final home game for seniors Julie Taylor, Jess Luedtke and Gabby Oloye. All three seniors either scored or assisted for the Phoenix in the loss, as Taylor led the trio with five points.

Elon drops to 17-11 (11-8 SoCon) with the setback, while the Lady Mocs improve to 15-13 (12-7 SoCon) with the win. Elon finishes its home slate with 10 wins, which ties for the most victories inside Alumni Gym since the 2002-03 season.

“We’ve been in our last few games and have had opportunities to win each one, but we need to learn from our mistakes and continue to become a better team,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “It’s nice that we’ve put ourselves in a situation to have a high seed in the tournament, but we still have to make adjustments and continue to progress going into our final regular season game on Saturday.”

Ali Ford scored a team-high 13 points in the loss, while Kelsey Evans and Lei Lei Hairston each tallied 10 points for the Phoenix. Hairston just missed recording her second career double-double, as she finished the contest with a team-high nine boards.

The Phoenix shot 38.5 percent from the field against the Lady Mocs, but a 2-of-20 clip from beyond the arc proved to be the difference.

Elon held the SoCon’s leading scorer Whitney Hood to five points in only 20 minutes of action, but Hood’s running-mate Kayla Christopher registered game-high 21 points and dialed up four triples for the Lady Mocs.

The Phoenix went into the locker room with a four-point edge, 28-24, after forcing the Lady Mocs into eight first-half turnovers.

But after going ahead by six early in the second half, the Phoenix saw the Lady Mocs go on an 11-2 run to take a three-point lead, 39-36, with 15:22 remaining after Bailey Dewart’s three-point field goal make.

It was all Chattanooga from that point forward, as the Lady Mocs went up by as many as 13 points down the stretch to secure the win and a season split with the Phoenix.

Elon closes out the regular season on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 26, when the Phoenix shuffles off to Charleston, S.C. to face the College of Charleston Cougars at 2 p.m.