DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team put three players in double figures on Wednesday night, Jan. 4, but the Phoenix suffered a 75-66 setback against the Davidson Wildcats in a Southern Conference matchup inside Belk Arena.
“We could have taken advantage of more opportunities offensively tonight, especially in one-on-one situations. We also needed to do a better job of communicating in transition and force their shooters into tougher shots” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “We would have certainly liked to have Lisa Archie and Shannen Cochraham inside tonight to bring some toughness and physicality against a team like Davidson.”
Kelsey Evans recorded her first double-double of the season (17th career) with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting and 10 boards.
Ali Ford finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, including four triples, while Sam Coffer was the third Phoenix player in double-figures with 17 points. Jasmine Calin added 16 points off the bench for the ‘Cats.
The Wildcats also put three players in double figures, including 23 points from Sophia Aleksandravicius and 21 from Laura Murray. Murray dialed up six makes from beyond the arc.
The Phoenix turned 15 Davidson turnovers into 25 points, but the ‘Cats outscored Elon 36-22 in the paint and registered 22 second-chance points off 18 offensive boards. Davidson won the rebounding battle, 44-35.
Davidson went to the foul line 20 times in the game, sinking 13 of its attempts. Elon finished the night 7-of-8 (88 percent) at the charity stripe.
Coffer helped the Phoenix make it a 21-all game with 9:11 to play after connecting on a three-ball from the top of the key to erase a six-point deficit.
Kelsey Harris intercepted a Davidson pass near midcourt with less than seven minutes to play in the opening frame and took the ball to the basket for the fast-break layup to give Elon a 26-23 edge.
But the ‘Cats battled back to take a 41-33 lead at intermission after closing the half on a 7-2 run. Elon shot 40 percent from the field and knocked down 6-for-12 shots from beyond the arc, but Davidson managed to scrape together 12 second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds. The Wildcats held a 24-14 advantage on the boards after the first 20 minutes of action.
Davidson jumped out to an 18-point second-half lead with less than 12:25 to play after Murray split a pair of free throws to make it a 57-39 game.
Elon managed to pull within nine points with less than a minute to play on an Evans triple, but that was as close as the Phoenix would come down the stretch.
Elon returns to Alumni Gym on Saturday at 2 p.m. for a key league matchup against instate rival Appalachian State.