Elon Women’s Basketball Begins Mountain Trek Saturday

ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team will begin its annual trip to the mountains beginning with a game at Western Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 15, with a 2 p.m. tip in Cullowhee, N.C.

Elon (11-12, 7-5 SoCon) at Western Carolina (11-13, 5-8 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 15
Time: 2 p.m.
Site: Cullowhee, N.C. (Ramsey Center)
Series: Elon leads, 21-17
Last Meeting: Jan. 19, 2014 – Elon won, 67-52
Radio: WSOE – 89.3 FM – Ryan Balick and Jake Sotir will have the call

Last Time Out
Elon battled back from a 16-point deficit in the first half to pick up its third straight win with a 66-63 final over Davidson. The Phoenix outscored the Wildcats 44-28 in the second half and claimed its first real lead of the game with under five minutes to play. With Elon leading by two with 30 seconds remaining, Davidson had the ball at their end of the court, but great defense by Shannen Cochraham got the ball to Sam Coffer who was sent to the line. Coffer put the Phoenix up by three and the Wildcats were not able to get another shot off with 00.5 left on the clock. Zora Stephenson turned in a great performance with 19 points off seven field goals, five of which were threes. Coffer finished with 15 points and Kelsey Harris with 14.

Scouting the Catamounts
WCU is 5-8 in conference play and is coming off back-to-back losses at Samford and Chattanooga. The Catamounts have one of the top defenses in the league, ranking third in scoring defense by allowing only an average of 59.5 points per game. Rema Wakama is the team’s leading scorer with 10.4 points/game, while Lindsay Simpson is near double figures with 9.4 ppg. Shauna Terry is the top defender with 5.2 rebounds per game and a total of 30 blocks on the season.

The Series
Elon leads the all-time series by four games, 21-17, having won the last six meetings. The Phoenix won the first meeting of the season with a 67-52 victory in Alumni Gym. Last season, Elon won both games the teams played, including a 64-48 win in Cullowhee. The Catamounts won seven straight from 2007-2009, including a four-overtime thriller in 2008 that ended in favor of WCU, 101-102.

So You Want To Be A Coach
Kelsey Harris is one of 50 current or recent graduate players that were selected to be a part of WBCA’s “So You Want To Be A Coach” program that will take place in conjunction with the WBCA National Convention on April 4-6. Harris will learn about recruiting, the administrative side of coaching, how to get hired, skill development, the importance of knowing the rules and how to balance work and life.

Pink Kicks
The Elon women’s basketball players will be sporting pink basketball shoes the entire month of February. This is in support of the Play 4Kay Cancer Fund and for breast cancer awareness. The initiative is named after former Elon and NC State head women’s basketball coach Kay Yow who lost her battle with cancer in 2009.

The 1,000-Point Club
Kelsey Harris is on her way to becoming the 20th member of Elon women’s basketball’s 1,000-point club. The senior currently has 970 career points, leaving her just 30 shy of the elite mark. The Gastonia, N.C., native is averaging 12.3 points per game.

NCAA Rankings
The NCAA released its latest set of rankings on Feb. 10 and Elon finds itself ranked 14th nationally in three-point field goal percentage with a 37.9 percent mark from beyond the arc (first in the league) and 19th in blocked shots per game (5.3/game).

Looking Ahead
The Phoenix will remain up in the mountains and travel to Appalachian State for its next game on Monday, Feb. 17. Tip is set for 6 p.m. in the Holmes Center.