Elon’s women’s basketball team captured a thrilling 66-63 victory over Kent State University in a game defined by two halves — one full of mistakes and the other with an offensive explosion.
Elon defeated Kent State inside Schar Center on Nov. 16 for its third home win of the season.
The game started with a bang as redshirt junior Kamryn Doty hit a 3-pointer ten seconds into the game, but not much offense would follow in the first half. Both teams struggled to score early on and turned the ball over frequently. The two squads had a combined 27 turnovers in the first half.
Head coach Charlotte Smith said she was happy with her defense’s performance against a Kent State team that averaged 73.3 points per game coming into the game.
“I am thoroughly impressed with our defensive effort and our press defense that created a lot of turnovers, a lot of easy opportunities for us and we forced 26 turnovers,” Smith said in the postgame press conference.
Redshirt sophomore Raven Preston led the way with 8 first-half points and 4 rebounds. There were a number of scoring droughts for both sides, but Elon held a healthy lead. However, Kent State ended the first half on a 6-0 run, bringing the deficit to one.
But the second quarter belonged to Kent State. They managed to capture the lead, going into halftime up 25-22. Elon struggled to get its shots to fall as its field goal percentage fell to a disappointing 29%. Elon continued to have turnover problems with 4 turnovers in four minutes deep into the second quarter. Kent State led as much as 5, but Elon cut it to 3 as Kent State missed 1 of its last 9 going into halftime.
Yet, the second half was another story. Elon came running out of the tunnel on fire as the team scored 6 straight points to begin the half. Kent State started to shoot well, too. A 7 point, 30 second sequence by the Phoenix recaptured the lead. The sequence was thanks to the efforts of junior transfer Laila Anderson who knocked down a 3-pointer and freshman Jayda Angel who got a steal and then followed it up with a layup.
Transfer junior Laila Anderson during a game against Kent State on Nov. 16. She scored 21 of her 23 points in the second half.
Smith said Kent State switched to a zone defense in the second half, which allowed the Phoenix to bounce back from a rough first half.
“We found a rhythm in the zone when we went to our high low offense,” Smith said. “Once we finally got organized, we were able to get some good looks.”
The turnovers continued somewhat but for the most part were replaced by a flurry of fouls. The second half was a grueling, physical battle that saw Elon get into foul trouble by getting into the bonus midway into the third quarter.
The lead was passed like a baton throughout the third quarter as the barnburner inside Schar Center inched toward the fourth quarter. A clutch 3-pointer by Preston helped the Phoenix go up 46-42 at the end of the third quarter. The entire Elon squad had found the basket, however, as they went into the final quarter making 5 of their last 7 field goals.
Preston said keeping their composure throughout the lead changes was all about patience.
“We just got to understand that it is a game of runs. So it might not be our run, but we’re going to come back in some sort,” Preston said in the postgame press conference.
A large part of Elon’s second half performance was due to Anderson’s second half explosion. She scored 21 of her 23 points in the second half. She couldn’t seem to miss as she went 8-12.
Preston praised Anderson’s play and said she is appreciative of Anderson’s presence this year.
“Laila brings everything: defense, offense, she’s just a great person to be around and I’m glad that she’s here,” Preston said.
Preston also had a great offensive half, ending with a double double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Smith described Preston down the stretch as “a beast” and was impressed with her performance.
“She was determined not to lose,” Smith said. “I saw that from the jump on the very first offensive play. She just played with a lot of confidence, played with a lot of poise, and just played with some toughness.”
Midway into the fourth quarter, Kent State retook the lead by a mere 3 points with five minutes remaining. Elon would retake the lead with two and half minutes left off an Anderson layup. Leads continued to trade back and forth but two clutch free throws by Anderson with 26 seconds left gave Elon a 2 point lead. Kent State then had the chance to tie it but missed a midrange jumper, securing a thrilling win for the Phoenix.
Smith was proud of the team’s fight and how they bounced back from a rough start.
“It was a gritty, gutsy win, and just really proud of my team for staying the course and being able to come out with the win tonight,” Smith said. “We know we didn't play Elon basketball the first half, but it was a great job of locking in on the second half and coming out with the win.”
Elon moves to 3-1 with its first win over Kent State since 2005. The Phoenix has a tough game next as it plays Virginia Tech on the road at 2 p.m. Nov. 23.