Charlotte Smith wasn’t quite sure what to expect with her first head coaching gig.
After Karen Barefoot left to take a job at Old Dominion, Dave Blank, Elon University Director of Athletics called upon the former Tar Heel to be the next head coach of the Phoenix.
Smith took over the team in July, shortly before the team went on its European tour the following month.
“With me having that European tour, it helped prepare me a lot,” Smith said. “The transition probably would have been a lot more difficult had I not had that trip.”
With one season under her belt, Smith begins her first full offseason looking forward to things to come but not forgetting the season that was.
“I think we had an outstanding season,” Smith said. “We went on an incredible run toward the end of the regular season. We closed out the regular season the way we were capable of playing.”
The Phoenix struggled to a 2-4 start and didn’t win a game against a Division I opponent until the team’s win against Samford University Dec. 5. But Elon rallied to finish 16-14, 12-8 in Southern Conference play before losing 67-36 to the same Samford Bulldogs in the SoCon Tournament.
A large chunk of Elon’s success can be attributed to the play of senior point guard Aiesha Harper. Prior to this season, Harper had never been a full-time starter at the college level. But when Shon Redmond tore her ACL last season, Harper was thrown into the mix.
The Pottstown, Pa., native averaged a team-high four assists a game and was the SoCon’s Player of the Week for the games played Feb. 14-20.
“After (Redmond) had her injury, someone had to step up,” Harper said. “I knew that the team needed me.”
Among Harper’s proudest moments of the season was a Jan. 13 win against Georgia Southern, when Harper’s layup with 3.6 seconds on the clock gave the Phoenix a 61-60 win.
“I think that was a big game,” Harper said. “Georgia Southern hadn’t been doing that well in the season and that was a good opportunity for us to keep the momentum swinging in our court.”
Other losses are senior guards Kallie Hovatter, Shon Redmond and Jermile' Batten and senior forward Erica Keto.
The team’s two most productive players throughout the season were junior guard Ali Ford and junior forward Kelsey Evans.
Ford, a first-team All-Conference selection by the media, broke the school record for career three-pointers and led the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game. Evans was voted onto the second-team All-Conference squad by the media after being the team’s most dominant rebounder.
Freshman guard/forward Sam Coffer was named to the All-Freshman Team by the coaches and media. Among her best games were a double-double in a 84-68 loss to Appalachian State University Feb. 13, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of play.
The Phoenix also return key pieces such as sophomore guard Kelsey Harris, who was fourth on the Phoenix with 6.6 points per game while starting all but one of Elon's 30 contests. Freshman guard Zora Stephenson led Elon with a 42.3 percent three-point success rate in her first season.
“I’ve never doubted their hunger or their passion to win a championship,” Smith said. “They’re warriors.”
Smith has now completed a season on the job. And though the future looks bright, the 2011-2012 Phoenix season may be chalked up as a learning experience for Smith when all is said and done.
“With this being our first year, there were some lumps and bumps that we were going to take,” Smith said. “It was just a matter of trying to figure things out.”