After winning its first Southern Conference game Saturday against Samford University, the Elon University women’s basketball team dropped its second conference contest, 66-43, against the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs Monday night, Dec. 16, in Alumni Gym.
The game was a tale of two halves for Elon. The Phoenix played strong in the first half, led by senior guard Kelsey Harris, who scored 14 points in the frame. As a team, the Phoenix shot 46 percent from the field in the first half while the Mocs shot 37 percent. After 20 minutes, the game was knotted at 30, before Elon went cold.
The second half was an entirely different story for Elon. The Phoenix led with over eight minutes left in the game before the Mocs went on a 19-0 run which the Phoenix could never recover from. The Mocs controlled play throughout most of the second half, shooting 48 percent from the field behind 17 points from forward Ashlen Dewart. Dewart would finish the night with 29 points, shooting at a clip of 78 percent.
Harris scored just one second half point for the Phoenix and finished with 15 points. Jenifer Rhodes added 10 for Elon while junior guard Zora Stephenson scored four points. Stephenson was coming off of a game against Samford in which she scored 23 points on six three-pointers, but failed to make a single three-pointer against the Mocs of Chattanooga, missing on all eight attempts. As a team, the Phoenix shot just 15 percent from the field in the second half and turned the ball over 24 times in the game.
Charlotte Smith’s squad drops to 3-6 and 1-1 in the SoCon. The Phoenix is in action again at home on Friday Dec. 20 to host the Camels of Campbell University at 7 p.m. inside Alumni Gym.