ELON, N.C. – Winners of four of its last five games, the Elon women’s basketball team heads to Chattanooga, Tenn., on Monday, Jan. 30, for a Southern Conference matchup against the UTC Lady Mocs. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside McKenzie Arena. The game will be carried live on ESPN3.com.
THE SERIES: Elon and Chattanooga will meet for the 19th time on Monday night. The Lady Mocs lead the all-time series, 16-2, after topping the Phoenix earlier this season in Alumni Gym, 59-46. The last time the two teams met in McKenzie Arena, Elon ended a seven-game losing streak at UTC behind 16 points off the bench from Aiesha Harper in just 15 minutes of action. Elon put four players in double figures in a winning effort, 74-61, including a team-high 17 points from Shon Redmond and 12 points and 10 boards from Kelsey Evans. The Phoenix also knocked down 19-of-26 free throws in the win.
ON THE HORIZON: Elon returns to the friendly confines of Alumni Gym on Feb. 4 for its Play4Kay game against Furman at 2 p.m.
RECORD BREAKER: Ali Ford knocked down three three-pointers against Samford on Jan. 28, making her Elon’s all-time three-point leader. Ford passed Loretta Lawson’s mark of 234 and now sits at 237 in her career. Ford has connected on a league-best 61 shots from beyond the arc this season and ranks seventh nationally at 3.1 threes per game.
FREEBIES: Kelsey Evans currently leads the Southern Conference (14th nationally) in free throw shooting, as the junior from Raleigh, N.C., has made 45-of-51 attempts for an 88.2 percent clip.
CRASHING THE BOARDS: Kelsey Harris has been a key component in getting the Phoenix second-chance points this season, as she currently ranks eighth in the Southern Conference in offensive rebounds at 2.4 per game.
ON POINT: Aiesha Harper leads the Southern Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.6. Harper ranks fifth in the league at 4.2 assists per game. The senior from Pottstown, Pa., dished out a career-high eight assists against Wagner on Dec. 29 in the Marriott Cavalier Classic.
MOVING ON UP: With 16 points against Samford on Jan. 28, Ali Ford tied Jeannie Hairston for sixth on Elon’s career scoring list with 1,357 points. Ford is now 47 points shy of passing Holly Andrews for fifth all-time.
DOWN THE STRETCH: Kelsey Evans has been clutch in the final five minutes of games for Elon this season. Evans has knocked down 16-of-18 shots from the field (90 percent) and has hit 13-of-14 free throws (93 percent) in the final five minutes.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Elon has held its opponent to less than 50 points in five of its victories this season. The Phoenix accomplished that feat four times all of last season.
ON THE GLASS: Elon is a perfect 9-0 this season when it outrebounds its opponent. Conversely, the Phoenix is 1-10 when losing the battle on the boards.
PLAY4KAY SET FOR FEB. 4: Elon will participate in the 2012 Play 4Kay initiative when the Phoenix women’s basketball team plays host to Furman on Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. Play 4Kay, formerly known as WBCA Pink Zone, is an initiative that allows a nation of coaches to raise awareness and funds for cancer research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The official charity is the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The late Kay Yow, former Elon and NC State University head women’s basketball coach, served as the catalyst for Play 4Kay after her third recurrence of breast cancer in 2006. Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and passed away on January 24, 2009.
ROAD TO ASHEVILLE: The 2012 Southern Conference Tournament is scheduled for March 2-5 in Asheville, N.C. Kimmel Arena will play host to the first round and quarterfinal games on March 2-3 before the tournament shifts to the Asheville Civic Center for the semifinals and championship on March 4-5.