The Phoenix women’s basketball team built an early double-digit lead and never looked back on March 17, as the third-seeded Phoenix registered a 103-72 victory over the sixth-seeded USC Upstate Spartans in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. The Phoenix moves on to the second round of the WBI to face second-seeded UAB on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Alumni Gym.
UAB topped seventh-seeded Central Arkansas, 58-54 in Conway, Ark.
“We beat a very talented team tonight because our defense played great and really kicked our offense into gear,” said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. “We wanted to wear them down and it was a total team effort tonight. Our plan was to run and push the ball and play a complete 40-minute game and we were able to do that early and set the tone for the entire game. I’m so proud of the way we played tonight and our fans were amazing and helped us beat a very good team.”
With the win, Elon moves to 20-12 on the year, passing the 2002-03 squad for the most victories in one season in the Division I era. The last time an Elon team had 20 or more wins in a season was when the 1981-82 squad finished the year with a 25-5 mark. The win also marked Elon’s 11th inside Alumni Gym this season, also a single season record in the Division I era. The win is Elon’s first ever in postseason play in Division I and first since the 1981-82 squad won the NAIA District 26 Tournament.
Elon found the hot hand of Ali Ford early and often in the win, as the sophomore from Morganton, N.C. dumped in a career-high 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field. Ford tied a career-high after knocking down seven three-point field goals in the win. Ford’s 35 points ties Holly Andrews for the fourth most in a single game in Elon history, as she now sits with 1,044 career points.
“Coach Barefoot really made sure we were ready to go tonight and we’ve been dying to get back on the court ever since the SoCon Tournament,” Ford said. “We knew our best chance to win tonight was to run and push the ball and we executed that game plan. My teammates did a great job of finding me and getting me open looks and I just tried to make the most of it.”
Kelsey Evans registered her 11th double-double of the season after going for 11 points and 11 boards, while Aiesha Harper scored 14 points and grabbed seven steals for Elon, who grabbed 17 steals as a team off 27 Upstate miscues.
Elon’s 103 points tonight are the most since the Phoenix dropped 104 against St. Andrews on Nov. 20, 2009. The team’s 52 second-half points are the most since the Phoenix scored 57 at home against Samford on Feb. 19 this season.
The Phoenix shot a blistering 47.9 percent from the field in the win, including a 9-of-16 clip from three-point land. Elon also knocked down 81.3 percent (26-of-32) of its free throw attempts in the win.
Ford helped the Phoenix go ahead by as many as 26 points in the first half after pouring in a game-high 18 points in the first 20 minutes to give Elon a 51-28 advantage at intermission.
Elon shot 48.6 percent from the field in the first half and connected on five makes from beyond the arc, while limiting the Spartans to 27.3 percent shooting from the field.
Elon outscored USC Upstate 19-0 on the fast-break, while holding a 44-24 advantage in the paint. The Phoenix held the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Chelsea McMillan to just 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field.
Elon kept its foot on the gas in the second half, going up by as many as 33 points in the final minute of the contest to secure the blowout win over the Spartans.
Prior to this win, the last time Elon beat a team by 30 or more points was on Jan. 27 this season against Southern Virginia.