Box Score
Box Score

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Ali Ford dropped in her 1,000th career point in the final seconds of the contest, netting a game-high 25 points to lead the fourth-seeded Elon women’s basketball team to a 69-62 victory over the fifth-seeded Furman Paladins in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament at McKenzie Arena on Saturday morning.

Elon advances to the semifinals for the third time in its eight years in the league and will face off against top-seeded Appalachian State in a noon tip on Sunday. With the win, its third over Furman this year, Elon (19-11) ties the 2002-03 Phoenix squad for the most victories in a single season since joining the Division I ranks.

“I thought it was two great teams going at it. It was a great game and we just happened to pull away,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “We were down by five at one point, and I called a timeout after Aiesha Harper made a bucket. After that timeout, I told them we have been here before and I believe in you girls to get the job done.

I had to change defenses throughout the game because they were getting too many good looks in the first half, but we really just kept fighting and made the adjustments in the second half. We have been able to win games down the stretch this season so I knew we would not panic. It was not just one player today, but a number of players that stepped up for us. And our fans were amazing throughout the entire game and really gave us a lot of energy down the stretch when we needed it.”

Ford tied a season-high with six three-pointers in the win, while also going 7-of-8 at the free throw line. She scored her 1,000th career point on the front end of a one-and-one free throw attempt with 13.7 seconds left and became only the third sophomore in Elon history to reach the 1,000-point milestone by her sophomore season. Venessa Corbett and Nuggie Dixon were the only two other players to do so.

Harper scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the win and dished out four assists, while Lei Lei Hairston recorded her second career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

Kelsey Evans recorded a game-high 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Phoenix, which swatted a total of 10 shots by the Paladins in the win.
 
Despite turning the ball over 24 times, which led to 33 Furman points, Elon dominated the glass, 51-36, and held the Paladins to a 3-of-16 clip from beyond the arc.

The Paladins forced an early Phoenix timeout with 16:21 to play in the first half after beginning the game on a 12-5 run. But Elon held Furman scoreless over the next five minutes and reeled off an 8-0 run to claim a 13-12 advantage with less than 12 minutes to play.

But Furman regrouped and closed the half on an 8-2 run to go into the locker room holding a four-point edge, 29-25.

Elon out-shot Furman in the opening frame, but the Paladins capitalized on 16 turnovers from the maroon and gold, scoring 20 points off Elon miscues.

But the Phoenix came out of the locker room and forced an early Furman timeout with 18:17 remaining after quickly scoring five points on a Ford triple and Julie Taylor layup to claim a 30-29 edge.

Down by four points with 6:38 to play, the Phoenix battled back to take a one-point lead after a Ford three-ball with 4:55 left gave Elon a 55-54 advantage. Elon capped off an 11-0 run with 2:41 remaining to force a Paladins timeout after a pair of Kelsey Harris free throws made it a 61-54 game.

The Phoenix never looked back from that point forward, as Ford scored her 1,000th career point with a free throw 13.7 seconds remaining in the contest to help Elon seal the win down the stretch and advance to the semifinals tomorrow at noon.