Awards chosen by The Pendulum Sports Desk
MVP | Kelsey Evans | #2 | Junior forward
Evans isn’t the name that first pops into your head when you think of Elon women’s basketball. Her teammate and roommate Ali Ford grabs all the headlines and scores the most points.
But there was not a more valuable player for the Phoenix in the 2011-2012 season than Kelsey Evans. On a team that got outrebounded by an average of 2.7 rebounds a game, Evans pulled down a team-high 7.5 boards per game and took home a second team All-Conference selection by the media.
“It feels good to be recognized, but I couldn’t have accomplished this without the help of my teammates and coaches,” Evans said.
Evans scored in double-figures 17 times this season and recorded all four double-doubles the Phoenix had.
Evans scored 14 points and pulled down 15 boards to lead her team to a 51-45 win against Western Carolina Jan. 18.
Best Freshman | Sam Coffer | #24 | Freshman guard/forward
A product of Northern Guilford High School in Greensboro, Coffer decided to stay local for her college career.
Her decision paid off greatly as the 6-foot-1 guard/forward earned a starting position four games into the season and kept it through its conclusion.
“I feel really honored and blessed that I’ve been able to play so much this year as a freshman,” Coffer said.
Coffer recorded a 20-point game in the team’s 69-44 win over Samford University Dec. 5.
But her talents were used most effectively on the defensive end. Coffer’s 25 blocks were second on the team, as were her 106 defensive rebounds.
Coffer played in all 30 of Elon's games this season, starting all but four. She was sixth on the Phoenix with six points per game and her 4.7 rebounds per contest were second for Elon in her first season for the maroon and gold.
Most Improved | Aiesha Harper | #10 | Senior guard
If it wasn’t for Shon Redmond's torn ACL, Harper might not have seen much playing time this season. But when Redmond went down last year, Harper was thrust into the starting point guard role. The result: Success. Harper had a team-best 119 assists and scored 9.7 points per game.
“We referred to her throughout the season as the engine that makes the car go,” saidhead coach Charlotte Smith. “She was very critical in our success as she did a phenomenal job of leading this team, being the point guard we needed in the system we had.”
Harper was named Southern Conference Player of the Week for the penultimate week of the regular season after scoring 37 total points in a pair of Phoenix victories over Georgia Southern University Feb. 18 and College of Charleston Feb. 20.
Most Exciting Game | Win vs. Georgia Southern University | 61-60 | Jan. 13
The Eagles hung near the Southern Conference cellar when they visited Alumni Gym in January. But they gave Elon all they could handle and possessed the lead in the game’s final seconds.
After two Meredith Frye foul shots gave Georgia Southern a 60-59 lead, Aiesha Harper got the ball in the backcourt from forward Kelsey Evans. When nobody stepped in front of Harper, the senior point guard took it all the way to the hoop for the go-ahead layup.
“My role first and foremost as the point guard is to push the ball, so as soon as I got the ball back from Kelsey that was my main focus, especially when no one stopped me,” Harper said. “I just tried to take advantage of the lane I was given and I hit the shot.”
A last-second Georgia Southern shot fell short, giving Elon the win in what would turn out to be the start of a four-game winning streak.