*****Coffer(Northern Guilford High School) with 15 to pace the Phoenix and Shay Burnett(Southern Alamance High School) added eight points and 7 rebounds for Elon….*****
ELON, N.C. – With the help of 15 points from senior Sam Coffer, the Elon women’s basketball team improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 69-56 win over Navy (0-2) today, Nov. 16, in Alumni Gym.
Elon shot over 45 percent (26-of-57) in the game and went 28 percent from three-point range. The Phoenix scored 36 of its points in the paint, including 10 fast-break points, and turned 20 Navy turnovers into 27 points. The Midshipmen took 34 of its 62 total shots from beyond the arc to finish 34 percent from the field (21-of-62) and 24 percent from three. Navy went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, while Elon won the slight advantage on the boards, 38-37.
“My main concern for us is on defense,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “I felt like the energy for us was a lot better defensively today. I’m not worried about anything offensively. We’re talented enough to score night in and night out. The defense is my area of concentration and I felt like we improved from Friday and got a lot better as a team. We can walk away form this game feeling good about our defensive effort and knowing that we still have a ways to go.”
Coffer went 7-of-12 in the game to lead all players with her 15 points, while also adding five rebounds, four assists and a game-high four steals. Lauren Brown scored 13 points after a 4-of-7 performance, including 2-for-2 from three, and hauled down a team-high seven rebounds. Essecnce Baucom made it three players in double figures for the Phoenix with 10 points, while Shay Burnett scored eight points and finished with seven boards.
After the Mids scored the first basket of the game, Elon went on a 6-0 run that included two baskets by Malaya Johnson to move ahead, 6-3. With 12:36 on the clock, Brown was fouled as she hit a three and finished off the four-point play to put the Phoenix up by five, 17-12. Back-to-back steals and fast-break layups moved the maroon and gold advantage to seven, 25-17, with 8:17 remaining.
Navy answered with an 11-0 run over a three and a half minute span to reclaim the lead, 29-25. With 44 ticks left on the clock, Brown made a jumper to even the score at 31-all and then hit a three as time expired to give Elon a 34-31 lead at the break. Elon finished the first half with a 48 percent mark from the field, while Navy shot 40 percent with five of its 12 goals from three-point range.
The score became tied quickly once again at the beginning of the second frame, 36-all. Seven points by Coffer and a three by Zora Stephenson made up a 10-2 run to move the Phoenix ahead by eight, 46-38, with 15:50 on the clock.
After the Mids pulled within six, 52-46, with 11:25 remaining, Shannen Cochraham scored a layup 10 seconds later that was followed by a steal and fast-break layup by Brown to help the maroon and gold pull away.
A Stephenson three and two made free throws by Baucom capped a 14-4 run that spanned over six minutes for the Phoenix to take its largest advantage, 64-50, with 4:38 left in the game. Navy was only able to cut its deficit by one point as Elon finished with a 13-point victory.
Elon plays its first road game of the season in its next contest on Friday, Nov. 21, at Charlotte. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C.