The Elon University women’s basketball team scratched and clawed its way back from a nine-point deficit with under 13 minutes to play, but ultimately fell three points short, as the Wofford College Terriers eked out a 68-65 win Monday afternoon, Jan. 27, inside Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C.
The loss was the second late-game defeat in as many games for the Phoenix. Elon lost in heartbreaking fashion Jan. 25 against Furman University on a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining, culminating in a 66-65 loss, only to fall just short once again against Wofford.
Trailing by three points with 10 seconds remaining, Elon coach Charlotte Smith called a timeout to draw up a play for her team. On the ensuing play, sophomore guard Jessica Farmer passed the ball to junior guard Zora Stephenson, the only Elon player to convert a three-point attempt on the afternoon, whose three-pointer missed as time expired.
The three-point shooting woes were a killer on this day for the Phoenix, as the team made just 1 of 11 attempts from downtown, good for a lowly percentage of 9.1 percent. Elon’s lone three-pointer came at the right time, though. With Elon trailing by four points with 42 seconds to go, Stephenson buried her shot from long range to make it a one-point game.
Wofford sophomore guard Jordan Frazier answered right back, driving down the lane to score her 18th and 19th points of the game with 16 seconds to play, forcing Elon to attempt a game-tying three-pointer that would not fall.
The Terriers’ two-guard attack of Frazier (19 points) and senior Logan Morris (25 points) was too much for the Phoenix to handle, as the duo poured in a combined 44 of Wofford’s total 68 points.
The Phoenix once again had to fight through injuries, in addition to foul trouble, that limited Elon’s frontcourt. Freshman forward Jenifer Rhodes left the game in the second half with a leg injury, while junior forward Shannen Cochraham picked up her fourth foul early in the second half. Junior forward Sam Coffer and freshman guard Lauren Brown also finished the game with four fouls apiece.
Coffer and Farmer helped carry the load at times without Rhodes and Cochraham. Coffer scored eight points and had seven rebounds while Farmer scored 14 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
In addition to the injury to Rhodes, sophomore guard Nicole Razor suffered a scary injury with less than eight minutes to play, halting play for about 30 minutes.
Brown and senior guard Kelsey Harris once again keyed Elon’s offensive attack not only by scoring the ball, but also by distributing it. Brown finished with 12 points and five assists on the afternoon, while Harris filled the entire stat sheet, putting together an impressive game of 12 points, six rebounds, four steals and five assists.
Elon falls to 8-12 and 4-5 in the Southern Conference with the loss. The team will have four days off before returning home to take on the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Feb. 1. Tip is set for 2 p.m. in Alumni Gym.