Box Score
Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s basketball team struggled to find a rhythm on offense on Sunday afternoon, March 20, in the second round of the 2011 Women’s Basketball Invitational, as the Phoenix saw its season come to an end with a 59-50 setback to the UAB Blazers inside Alumni Gym.

“Today was a true challenge against a very good team and I am proud of the way we battled and stayed in the game for all 40 minutes,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “There were a few possessions down the stretch where we broke down and did not take care of the ball.  We competed against a solid team and showed fight all the way until the end.

This has been such a remarkable season for us and I am happy for our seniors who have helped turn this program around. We will continue our quest to make this program the best it can be.”

Elon’s 20 wins overall this season, including 11 at home inside Alumni Gym, are the most in the Division I era. This year’s squad is only the fifth team in program history to finish the season with 20 or more victories, and is the first since the 198-82 squad finished with a 25-5 record. The team’s 33 games this season ties the 1980-81 team for the most contests played in a single season in program history.

Today marked the final game for seniors Julie Taylor, Jess Luedtke and Gabby Oloye. Taylor played in all 127 games in her four-year career, tallying a total of 498 points, 114 assists, 181 rebounds and 82 makes from beyond the arc.

The Blazers (18-15) limited the Phoenix (20-13) to a 29.7 percent shooting performance from the field, including a 4-of-19 clip from beyond the arc. The UAB reserves found the basket all afternoon long, out-scoring the Elon bench, 34-4, in the win.

Ali Ford scored a game-high 19 points in the loss, as she finishes her sophomore season with 1,063 career points, just six points shy of passing Jamie McNeely for 17th all-time.

Kelsey Evans was the only other Elon player to reach double-digits, as the Raleigh, N.C. native finished with 13 points and seven boards.

Elon won the battle on the boards, 49-44, but the Blazers grabbed a total of 14 steals off 22 Elon turnovers, generating 17 points. Lisa Archie led Elon with a team-best nine rebounds and two blocked shots in only 13 minutes of action.

After falling behind four points, 26-22, at the half, Elon battled back to take its only lead of the game in the early stages of the second period after Ford knocked down a three-pointer with 19:27 to play to give the Phoenix a 27-26 lead.

But the Blazers went back up by six points with 17:47 to play, the Phoenix clawed back again to make it a one point game after an Aiesha Harper layup with 13:28 made it a 35-34 game. Harper finished with six points, three boards and a team-high three steals.

Elon cut UAB’s lead to just four points in the final minute after Taylor hit the last three-point field goal of her career to make it a 52-48 game, but UAB would not let Elon get over the hump down the stretch, as the Phoenix’s attempt at a comeback over the final two minutes of the game came up short.

The second-seeded Blazers will face fifth-seeded Manhattan in the semifinals after the Jaspers knocked off top-seeded Wright State, 75-73, today in Dayton, Ohio.