Box Score
Box Score

Click here to view the 2011 SoCon Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Elon University women’s basketball team clinched the No. 4 seed in the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament after defeating the College of Charleston Cougars, 61-51, on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 26, in its regular season finale at Carolina First Arena.

Elon finishes the regular season with a 12-8 record in league play, tying the 2003-04 Phoenix team for the most SoCon wins since joining the conference seven seasons ago. Elon’s 18 wins so far this season are the second most in the Division I era, as the 2003-04 squad finished with 19 victories. Elon’s four seed in the tournament is its highest since joining the SoCon.

With Elon (18-11, 12-8 SoCon) topping CofC (10-19, 7-13 SoCon) and Chattanooga beating Western Carolina today, the Phoenix earns the No. 4 seed in the SoCon Tournament and will face fifth-seeded Furman at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 5, at 9 a.m. The Paladins topped Georgia Southern tonight in Statesboro, Ga.

Lei Lei Hairston paced the Phoenix with a game-high 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with six boards.

Kelsey Evans registered her ninth double-double of the season in the win, going for 13 points and 10 boards. On defense, Evans had three blocked shots and three steals.

“This has traditionally been a very tough place for us to play and I’m extremely proud of the passion and energy we showed today against a hot team,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “This team has accomplished a lot of great things this year and we’ve put ourselves in a great position going into next weekend. Now we get to rest and prepare for the second round of the tournament. Playing in March is what you live for and we’re excited.”

Aiesha Harper was the third Phoenix player to score in double figures, as the Pottstown, Pa. native finished with 13 points, six boards and three assists.

Elon shot 47.2 percent from the field in the win and held a 37-35 advantage on the boards. The Cougars finished the game shooting 33.9 percent from the field and turned the ball over 18 times.

Elon took a two-point edge. 29-27, into the locker room at intermission after shooting 42.9 percent form the field in the opening frame, connecting on 11-of-21 field goal attempts. The Phoenix limited the Cougars to a 37.9 percent clip in the first half and held a slight 18-16 edge on the glass.

The Cougars pulled within one point, 47-46, with just under six minutes to go after Megan Fischer connected from beyond the arc. But the Phoenix answered on the next possession after a Harper trey put Elon back up four points, 50-46.

The Phoenix took its largest lead of the game with 1:25 to play in the game after a pair of Ali Ford makes from the charity stripe gave Elon an eight-point lead, 55-47.

Elon kept the Cougars at arm’s length down the stretch, hitting 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:25 to secure the win.

The victory marks Elon’s second win of the season on an opposing team’s senior day, as the Phoenix topped Furman on Feb. 14 for the Paladins’ senior night in Greenville, S.C.