Phoenix falls in tournament’s second round
Mike Vivenzio / Reporter
The Elon University women’s basketball season ended on
a bitter note last Friday, as the team lost in the Southern
Conference semifinals to nationally ranked Chattanooga.
However, the lady Phoenix did not go down without making an
impact on its first trip to the Southern Conference
Tournament. It became only the third No. 5 seed to advance to
the semifinals of the tournament and the first team since
1998 to advance in its first year in the conference.
“This season was very satisfying as a coach, because
the girls played to their abilities,” said head coach
Brenda Paul. “This was one of the most enjoyable groups
of all-time that I have ever coached. We reached our
potential.”
The Phoenix entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and
were pitted against No. 4 East Tennessee State University for
the second time in a week. The result was the same. The
Phoenix was victorious. The game showed the balanced
inside-outside attack of the Phoenix and senior point guard
Lisa Miller, who recorded the second double-double of her
career — and season — with 16 points and 13
assists. However, senior guard Rasalynn Jones stole the show,
leading the team in scoring with a career-high 19 points in
the 84-68 win.
“This win speaks volumes of our girls and our
program,” Paul said. “We were able to get the
monkey off our back by getting the first win in our first
SoCon Tournament. It establishes respect for our
program.”
On Friday, however, the Phoenix was met with a challenge
that no team in the SoCon had been able to overcome, the
University of Chattanooga lady Mocs. Chattanooga was the
immovable rock: nationally ranked, No. 1 seed in the
tournament and undefeated in Southern Conference play. In
fact, Chattanooga’s only losses were at the beginning
of the season at the University of Tennessee and Butler
University. The Phoenix shot a dreadful 34 percent from the
floor and got to the free throw line a mere 10 times while
the lady Mocs shot 36 free throws in the game.
“They are a very good club. When you have two players
coming off the bench that were All-SoCon players last year,
that is an incredible asset,” Paul said. “They
are the measuring stick for the league. They had a great
recruiting year this past year and they make every other team
have to have great recruiting years too.”
Chattanooga extended its winning streak to 26 games, beating
the Phoenix by 30 points, 67-37. Courtney Nyborg lead the way
for the Phoenix with 14 points and 8 rebounds. No other
Phoenix player made it into double figures.
“We accomplished our goals for the season,” Paul
said. “We wanted to finish in the top half of the
conference and we did that. By beating ETSU we guaranteed
ourselves a fourth-place finish, and we wanted to gain
respect in the league and prove that we were going to
compete.”
Paul attributes some of the success to the fan base and the
atmosphere produced inside The Nest. “You play better
when you have that kind of energy in the stadium,” Paul
said.
The Phoenix finished with the second best RPI rating in the
conference and the best ever in the history of the
women’s basketball program. This year’s senior
class will be the first since 1984 to leave with four
straight winning seasons. “We played as a team this
year,” Paul said. “We are going to continue to
strive to build a commitment to excellence here at Elon
University.”
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