The Elon University women’s basketball team honored five seniors before their final game March 2 in the friendly confines of Alumni Gym. Though only three of them could physically play, the game marked the final time the group would play on Robertson Court.
Seeing Elon’s home record of 12-2 compared to a 5-10 clip on the road could bring on the thought of falling short in the conference tournament this weekend. Breaking down the record away from Elon, though, will show there might not be as much to worry about as originally thought. Just ask head coach Charlotte Smith.
“The record is not really indicative of who we are on the road,” Smith said. “We played some great teams on the road in the beginning of the season, which are some of our losses. We played well against those great teams.”
Looking at the Southern Conference portion of the season, specifically the road record, the 10 losses get split in half, as the Phoenix only lost five road games in conference play against a solid road schedule.
The opponents of which Smith speaks were teams including North Carolina State University, the University of South Carolina and Campbell University.
“The N.C. State game, that’s a game where we were in the game,” she said. “It just got away in the last couple minutes.”
In fact, the only road game in which the Phoenix was blown out was the season opening contest against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Though unranked when the two teams collided in early November, the Gamecocks have been a consistent Top 25 team this season and are currently ranked No. 14 in the country.
“We played a lot of great teams on the road and that’s what has prepared us for conference play and the tournament,” Smith said.
On Jan. 26 and Feb. 2, Elon played road games against Appalachian State University and Davidson College. The Phoenix lost by a combined 33 points in those two games. To close out the home portion of the schedule though, the two potential SoCon Tournament title contenders visited Alumni Gym. Neither came away with a positive result as the Phoenix beat the two by a combined 33 points.
“The first time we played [Appalachian State] and Davidson, especially in the Davidson game, we were in them until the last couple of minutes,” said senior forward Kelsey Evans. “Now, it’s March and teams start to step up their game. We had to follow suit. We’ve worked hard and we’ve put ourselves in a good position.”
The revenge win against Davidson on senior day, March 2, gave the Phoenix conference victories against all nine SoCon opponents, including being the only slip-up for the first-place University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lady Mocs Jan. 7.
Now, the Phoenix turns to the unfamiliar surroundings of Kimmel Arena in Asheville to close out the season with the conference tournament. Going in as the No. 3 seed, Elon takes on the the winner of the first round game between No. 6 seed Samford University and the No. 11 seed, Wofford College, March 9.
Now in the postseason, the records don’t matter anymore. Evans said she knows it’s win or go home for every team involved, and she knows what’s at stake in Asheville.
“In Asheville, it’s nobody’s home court,” she said.
Before the 30-game schedule started in November, Evans cited the team’s goal as a conference championship: something that hasn’t happened yet for the Phoenix. Five months later, the goal is in sight and very plausible. Three wins in March and it becomes a reality. But it’s three wins away from Alumni Gym.
Smith said she knows the Phoenix has worked toward March all season. Having topped every team in the conference at least once on the way to an overall 17-12 record, 14-6 in the conference, Smith knows her team is ready for the tournament, even if it is in Asheville.
“We’re going to show up and we’ll play our game,” she said.