Five days before the Elon University women’s basketball team will honor its seniors in their final home game of 2013, they and the rest of the Phoenix accomplished something they haven’t been able to do since prior to the class of 2013 arriving on campus: Win against Appalachian State University.
“We played really well tonight,” senior guard Ali Ford said of Elon’s monumental 75-58 victory against the visiting Mountaineers. “This is not only a big win for my class, but for the whole team.”
The Phoenix had four players in double figures, including Ford who led the team with 19 points on 6-16 shooting. Senior forward Kelsey Evans had 18 points in the contest while adding a team high eight rebounds. Sophomore Sam Coffer rebounded from what Elon head coach Charlotte Smith described as a “tender foot” to score 15 points. Coffer started the game off red hot hitting three three-pointers in the first half. Finally, freshman guard Jessica Farmer chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
“We had a very balanced attack and did an excellent job of executing the game plan,” Smith said.
For the Mountaineers, sophomore forward Maryah Sydnor led all scorers with 25 points on 10-15 shooting while also grabbing 9 boards. Senior guard Courtney Freeman was the only other player in double figures for Appalachian State with 13 points.
The Phoenix shot well from the field as a team, shooting 51 percent on the night and 43 percent from behind the arc.
“We have so many people capable of doing so much both offensively and defensively,” Smith said. The Mountaineers shot 41 percent from the field in the game and just 28 percent from three-point land.
Early in the first half, neither team was able to take control and stay in control. Elon did go on a 17-2 run that was capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Ford that allowed Elon to take a 26-13 lead. The Phoenix closed off the first half cold, with only 1 point in the final four minutes as Appalachian State cut the deficit to just six at the end of half at 34-28.
The Mountaineers were still hanging around early in the second half. However, every time Appalachian State tried to make an extended run, Elon was quick to reestablish their comfortable lead. The Phoenix then kicked into gear and lead by as many as 19 with a 71-52 lead. Elon held on and came out with a 17-point victory, getting its payback for the Mountaineers 80-62 victory on Feb. 2 in Boone.
“You have to take it one game at a time,” Ford said. “But I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said this win didn’t mean a little something more.”
Elon’s defensive performance was just as impressive as their offensive play. The Phoenix forced 20 Mountaineers turnovers. A combined effort also held star senior forward Anna Freeman to just three points on 1-8 shooting.
With the victory, Elon improves to 15-12 on the season and 12-6 in the Southern Conference. The loss drops Appalachian State to 18-7 and `12-5 in conference play. Elon will play its final home game of the season on Saturday when the Phoenix take on conference-leading Davidson College at 2 p.m. The contest marks the final home game for the five members of the senior class.