Three points. That’s the point differential in the last two games for the Elon University women’s basketball team that have left Elon 0-2 in those games.
Turnovers plagued both the Phoenix and the visiting College of Charleston Cougars all afternoon, but it was the Cougars that came away with the hard-fought win over the Phoenix, 57-55, in the Southern Conference opener.
One of the 25 turnovers the Cougars tallied in the game almost cost them the game down the stretch.
Up by one point at 56-55, junior guard Jillian Brown held the ball for a majority of the shot clock. Tight Elon defense as the clock was winding down forced Brown into a travel as she tried to heave a desperation shot at the basket.
With nine seconds to go and the ball, Elon called timeout to draw up a play. On the inbounds, junior guard Shon Redmond dribbled up the sideline, only to have the ball stripped from her hands with five seconds to go for the team’s 21st turnover.
Redmond fouled Charleston junior guard Afreyea Tolbert immediately, sending her to the line for a one-and-one. That’s when controversy arose.
Tolbert was pulled from the game before taking the first foul shot because of blood on her hand. It was something that Elon head coach Charlotte Smith was irate about, as she walked to the midcourt line to talk with the officials.
After the game, Smith didn’t have much to say about the incident, but what she did say spoke enough.
“I can’t even talk about that,” she said.
Replacing Tolbert at the foul line was senior guard Megan Fischer. She knocked down the first shot, but missed the second.
Elon pulled down the rebound and immediately called a timeout to draw up another play. Almost turning the ball over for an 11th time in the game, senior guard Ali Ford tiptoed the right sideline before the ball was knocked out of bounds in front of the Elon bench with one second to go.
The inbounds pass found Kelsey Evans open at the top of the three-point line, but the last second attempt came up short, giving the Cougars the win.
“We were inconsistent,” Smith said. “We just have to build consistency on both ends of the floor.”
While Elon turned the ball over 21 times in the game, the Cougars gave it away 25 times. The Phoenix also outshot Charleston, shooting 33.8 percent, including shooting 40 percent on 14-35 in the second half. Charleston finished 20-64, good for 31.3 percent.
“The way we played tonight, we didn’t play our best basketball, but we still had an opportunity to win,” Smith said. “I’m just looking forward to us clicking on all cylinders and getting back to playing the way we’re capable of.”
Tolbert led all Cougars scorers with 15 points off the bench. She, too, had turnover problems though, losing the ball nine times. Fischer scored 14 points for the Cougars, knocking down 3-of-5 shots from three-point range while junior guard Jillian Brown came away with seven steals on the night.
Ali Ford led the way for the Phoenix with 13 points, but she turned the ball over 10 times. Coming into the contest, she had 20 turnovers in the previous four games combined. Junior guard Kelsey Harris tallied 12 points and three steals. She did not turn the ball over.
Evans hits 1,000 career points
On Elon’s opening possession of the game, senior forward Kelsey Evans knocked down a jump shot from 10-feet out. The bucket gave her 1,001 career points wearing maroon and gold.
“I have to thank my teammates,” Evans said. “I mean, I can’t pass the ball to myself so they’ve contributed to it as much as I have. I’m just so grateful that I have them. It sucks that it happened in a game like this though.”
With the accomplishment, she becomes the 19th player in program history to eclipse the mark, joining teammate Ali Ford on that list.
“It’s phenomenal,” Smith said. “She’s an outstanding player and I’m just so happy that she had an opportunity to score her 1,000th point here on our home court.”