It is said that defense wins championships, and it was defense that helped the Elon Phoenix women’s basketball team earn its second win in the Southern Conference this season by defeating the Samford Bulldogs 65-41.
After losing three straight tough games on the road, the Phoenix showed that it was very happy to be back in the friendly confines of Alumni Gym by defeating the team that not only ended its season last year but won its second straight conference tournament.
“I’m very excited about today’s game,” Elon head coach Charlotte Smith told ElonPhoenix.com. “I’m glad we got the win and I feel like everyone played well. Coming off a three-game slide, I think we were focused and we knew that the games we have played prior to conference play would prepare us for this. We look forward to taking on Chattanooga on Monday.”
The outcome was rarely in question. Elon got out to a 5-0 lead early and extended the lead to ten with eight minutes to go in the half, using varied full court traps and presses to disrupt the Samford offense.
Smith said the goal of all the pressing was to “keep them out of sync and keep them off rhythm.”
The Phoenix extended the lead to 17 by halftime to a 36-19 lead, in large part to a scoreless drought by the Bulldogs in the final 2:36.
In the second half, Elon came out with the same defensive intensity, resulting in Samford not scoring until the 14:35 mark of second half, eclipsing an eight-minute scoring drought as the Phoenix continued to run away with the contest. Elon’s largest lead of 32 came after sophomore guard Zora Stevenson's three-pointer midway through the second half.
The Phoenix caused 26 turnovers, a major factor in Samford’s lack of offensive firepower.
"I was disappointed in the fact that we turned the ball over 26 times,” Samford head coach Mike Morris said to SamfordSports.com. “We're still in a learning process with people in different roles and with different responsibilities. We just have to get better from this.”
The Phoenix offense was also impressive, shooting 48 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the arc. Three players were in double figures for the Phoenix. Junior guard Kelsey Harris notched a game-high 15 points, senior forward Kelsey Evans had 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds and senior guard Ali Ford chipped in 11 points.
Senior guard Jazmine Martin led the Bulldogs in scoring with 11 points.
The win improved Elon to 5-7 and 2-1 in the Soon, and the loss dropped Samford to 5-7 and 2-1 in conference play.
Elon’s next game comes on Monday night at 7 p.m. against the upstart University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lady Mocs, who are sitting pretty at 10-2 overall, 3-0 in conference.