Bears Take Win Over Elon Women’s Basketball in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Elon women’s basketball team suffered a 68-56 setback against Mercer today, Nov. 30, in the consolation game of Vanderbilt’s Thanksgiving Tournament. The Phoenix falls to 2-4 on the season, while the Bears are now 4-3.

Elon was held to a 39 percent shooting clip after hitting 22-of-57 shots from the field. Mercer shot 44 percent, going 31-of-70, scoring 12 points in fast-break situations. The Phoenix hit 9-of-13 from the charity stripe to shoot 69 percent, while the Bears struggled at the line only scoring four points in their seven trips (57 percent).

Most of the day’s points came from inside the arc as the two teams combined for only five threes in the game. The Bears scored 32 points in the paint, while Elon also tallied 30 of its points in the paint.

The difference came on the boards with Mercer claiming a 50-29 advantage in rebounds.

Shannen Cochraham recorded the only double-double in the game, scoring a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. Zora Stephenson knocked down all three of Elon’s scores from three-point land to tally 13 points, while Kelsey Harris finished with 12 points.

Elon cut a Mercer lead to four, 22-18, with 7:28 to play in the first half after a jumper by Harris. The two teams would trade a few baskets before the Bears managed a 10-point run to grab a 34-20 advantage with just over four minutes left in the half. A steal by Cochraham set up a jumper by Lauren Brown with 41 ticks on the clock to make it a 36-24 game at the half.

Elon shot 40 percent from the field in the first half (12-of-30), while Mercer hit a 50 percent mark (17-of-34). The advantage for the Bears came on the boards with a 24-13 edge for Mercer.

After a three by Stephenson in the second half, Harris banked two free throws to cut the deficit to just nine, 43-34, with just under 14 minutes to play in the second half. But the Bears responded with a 12-4 run in the next six minutes to take a 19-point lead.

With under two minutes to go, a pair of free throws and a three by Stephenson within the span of 16 seconds pulled the maroon and gold within 10, 66-56. However, the Phoenix was not able to make up the deficit in the time remaining as the Bears walked away with the victory.

Elon’s next game will be on Sunday, Dec. 8, in nearby Raleigh, N.C., at NC State. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.

One thought on “Bears Take Win Over Elon Women’s Basketball in Nashville

  1. This team will clearly finish below .500 because they don’t have good shooters on the perimeter. Any team can pack the paint because Elon can’t hit shots beyond 17 feet. So, we are leaving the Southern for a higher conference when we can only finish around .500 – good luck with that. Please go get some shooter – “coach”.

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