The Elon University women's basketball team was in a jovial mood following their win against the College of Charleston Jan. 15.
During the postgame press conference, head coach Charlotte Smith was asked how her team was able to win despite several shots missing their mark. Smith, beaming, said she was excited to think about what would happen if "Kelsey Evans' shots had fallen, Ali (Ford)'s shots had fallen, Sam (Coffer)'s shots had fallen, Eesh (Aiesha Harper) is driving in there and Baby's driving in there." When asked who "Baby" was, the whole table (Evans, Ford and Smith) erupted in laughter, before explaining that that was the nickname for sophomore guard Kelsey Harris.
It's laughter like this that has found its way into the program for a team that has discovered new life after dropping several early season contests.
The Phoenix sits at 8-9 overall, 4-4 in Southern Conference play after a couple of dramatic home victories the weekend of Jan. 13-15.
"We're beginning to gel a lot more offensively," Smith said. "This stretch ahead for us, only good things can happen for us."
The Phoenix travels to Cullowhee to face Western Carolina University Jan. 18 before returning to Alumni Gym for a match against the UNC Greensboro Spartans Jan. 23. Both opponents are near the bottom of the SoCon standings.
"We're going to have to win the games towards the bottom of the conference," Evans said. "Then we need to make some upsets to the people ranked higher in the conference."
The Phoenix relied on two come- from-behind wins to lift them up in the standings and towards the middle of the pack.
After blowing a 10-point lead against Georgia Southern University Jan. 13, Elon had the ball down a point with 10 seconds left. Harper threw the ball in bounds, got it back in the backcourt and proceeded to make her way down the court. Nobody got in front of the senior point guard, who laid the ball in with 3.6 seconds left to win the game for the Phoenix.
Elon once again found themselves in trouble against Charleston two days later. After falling behind by nine in the second half, the Phoenix stormed back. Later in the half, they went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by a Ford three-pointer that gave them their first lead since the score was 15-14 midway through the first half. As she made her way back on defense after the basket, Ford let out a scream — the emotion clearly visible.
"I think it's just an indirect yell," she said. "Something loud."
The Phoenix held on for a 51- 46 victory, achieving back-to-back conference wins for the first time this season.
It's a smooth step in a positive direction for a team that started the season with such bumpiness.
The Phoenix was 2-5 on Dec. 3 and had yet to beat a Division I team. Later that month, Elon went on the road and lost by 48 to West Virginia University. Smith hopes those moments are in the past but cautions that the team has yet to reach its peak.
"We're not there yet," Smith said. "I think that's the exciting part about it. We still have a couple of levels that we can go to become a better team"