ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team closes out the regular season at home on Monday night, Feb. 27, when the Phoenix welcomes Southern Conference foe Western Carolina to Alumni Gym for Senior Night. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Monday is the home finale for seniors Jermile’ Batten, Erica Keto, Kallie Hovatter and Aiesha Harper.
THE SERIES: Monday is the 35th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and Catamounts in a series that dates back to the 1973 season. Both teams enter Monday’s game having won 17 games versus its counterpart. Elon has won the last two against WCU, including a 51-45 victory in Cullowhee earlier this season on Jan. 18. Kelsey Evans recorded her 19th career double-double in the win after scoring 14 points and grabbing 15 boards. Evans is averaging 19 points and 15 rebounds against the Catamounts in the last two meetings.
LOOKING TO ASHEVILLE: With a win and a Furman loss on Saturday, the Phoenix locked up the No. 5 seed in the 2012 Southern Conference Tournament. Elon can still finished the regular season tied with Samford record-wise, but the Bulldogs hold the tiebreaker over Elon due to a win over Davidson. As the fifth seed, Elon earns a first-round bye for the second straight year and will open tournament play at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, March 3 at 2:30 p.m. versus the No. 4 seed.
LAST THREE GAMES: Elon has won its last three games by an average of 18.7 points per contest, which included a 30-point victory at Georgia Southern on Feb. 18. The Phoenix has limited its last three opponents to 31 percent shooting from the field, including a 28 percent (15-of-53) clip from beyond the arc. Elon has won the turnover margin by +5.3 against its last three opponents. Senior point guard Aiesha Harper has tallied only two turnovers in Elon’s last three contests.
ELITE COMPANY: With 12 points on Saturday against Wofford, Ali Ford tied Lou Williamson for third on Elon’s all-time scoring chart with 1,472 career points. Ford has connected on a school and Southern Conference record 258 three-pointers in her career. Ford has dialed up 82 triples so far this season and is 10 shy of tying the single season record she set last season.
NEARING 1,000: With 24 points against Wofford on Saturday, Kelsey Evans now sits at 930 career points. Evans went over the 700-rebound plateau against the Terriers on Saturday and now sits at 704 boards in her career.
HOME COOKING: A win on Monday would give the Phoenix 10 home wins this season. Elon is 9-3 inside the friendly confines of Alumni Gym and has outscored its opponents by a shade under nine points per game. The Phoenix is averaging 67.1 points per game at home while holding opponents to 58.8 points per contest. Elon has won five out of its last six inside Alumni Gym.
CAREER NIGHT: Kelsey Harris had a career night on Feb. 25 against Wofford, as the sophomore from Gastonia, N.C., scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Harris also knocked down all four of her free throw attempts in the victory.