In her final regular season game in an Elon University uniform, senior forward Kelsey Evans carried the Phoenix with a career high 31 points on 14-17 shooting as the women’s basketball team defeated the Georgia Southern University Eagles, 76-65, on Monday March 4.
To go with the career high in points, the 14 field goals made was also a career high for the senior. Her 30-plus point game marked the first time since 2011 that a Phoenix eclipsed the 30 point mark.
Junior guard Kelsey Harris and senior guard Ali Ford had 9 points apiece while Harris lead the team in rebounding with 7. As a team, the Phoenix shot very well, finishing the game at a season high 56 percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the arc. Elon also had 21 points off of the bench.
Sophomore guard Anna Claire Knight led the Eagles in scoring with 24 points. She narrowly missing out on a double-double, as she finished with boards. Senior guard Meredyth Frye had 16 points of her own in the losing effort. Georgia Southern shot just 38 percent from the field and 35 percent on three-pointers. However, the Eagles made the most of their free-throws by making 18 of the 19 attempts.
Elon got off to a fast start getting out to a 7-0 lead just one minute into the game. The Phoenix had their largest of the half after a Kelsey Evans lay-up with :35 on the clock to take a 38-29 lead.
The Phoenix were in control during the second half and were able to extend their lead to 14 at 49-35 after a basket from freshman forward Autumn Carter with 14:20 remaining. The Eagles went on a brief run to cut the lead to 8 with just over 7 minutes remaining in the game, but the Phoenix were able to regain control of the game and have their largest lead of the game at 15 with the score 71-56.
There was no late run for Georgia Southern as the Phoenix cruised to an 11-point victory. With the win, the Phoenix wrapped up the regular season at 17-12 and 14-6 in the Southern Conference. With the loss, Georgia Southern finished at 7-22 and 6-14 in conference play.
Elon turn its focus to the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville. The Phoenix have a first round bye and await the winner of No. 6 seed Samford University and No. 11 seed University of North Carolina at Greensboro on Saturday, March 9.