Women's basketball falters at Chattanooga, 60-43

Looking to build its first win streak since January 20, the Elon University women’s basketball team took the court in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Saturday evening to face the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Unfortunately for Elon, the Phoenix came out flat and could never build a consistent offense, falling 63-40 to the host Lady Mocs.

The loss is the second lopsided defeat in the last three games for the Phoenix. Appalachian State University topped the Elon seven days ago in Boone, N.C. by 18 points.

Elon shot a mere 28 percent (15-53) from the field, a number inflated by the Phoenix’s 0-12 mark from behind the arc. Another contributor to the rout was Elon’s 17 turnovers on the contest, compared to 11 from the Lady Mocs.

The Maroon and Gold actually began the game with a 12-3 lead behind balanced scoring from senior forward Kelsey Evans, junior guard Kelsey Harris, senior guard Ali Ford, senior guard Shon Redmond and freshman guard Jessica Farmer.

Sparked largely by bench play, the Lady Mocs answered with a 15-4 run to take an 18-16 lead with 5:15 to play in the first half. Elon tied the contest at 18, but a 7-0 run to close the half sent Chattanooga to the locker room up 25-18.

The second half was simply a continuation of the first for Elon. The Phoenix gave up eight straight points to open the half, and never got the offense to click. Both teams emptied their benches late in the game once the outcome was decided.

Evans scored 19 of Elon’s 40 points, followed by Harris with eight, Ford finished with a season-low five, Redmond had four while Farmer and freshman Autumn Carter added two points apiece.

Three Chattanooga players reached double figures: Freshman guard Tatianna Jackson (14), junior forward Ashlen Dewart (12) and junior forward Faith Dupree (11).

With the loss, Elon dropped to 12-10, 9-4 in the Southern Conference. Chattanooga improved to 20-3, 13-1 in conference play.

Elon will remain on the road, playing in Birmingham, Ala. on Monday night against the Samford University Bulldogs. Tipoff is at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Central.