Dec. 5, 2011
Box Score
ELON, N.C. -
The Elon women's basketball team outscored Samford by 23 points in the second half to down the Bulldogs, 69-44, in Southern Conference action Monday evening a Alumni Gymnasium.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Elon," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They definitely shot the ball well and executed in the second half and did a good job defensively. As a coach, I take responsibility for where we are as a team. We have to get better, we have to get tougher, and that starts at the top with me."
With the loss, Samford drops to 4-4 overall and 0-2 in Southern Conference play. Elon improves to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in league play.
For Samford, Hannah Dawson scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds, both team highs. Jazmine Powers added seven points for the Bulldogs.
Elon was led by Sam Coffer with 20 points and six rebounds. Aiesha Harper and Ali Ford scored nine points each for the Phoenix. Lisa Archie and Kelsey Evans shared the Elon lead in rebounding with seven each.
The game was close throughout most of the first half, with neither team able to gain more than a four-point advantage most of the way. With Elon leading, 20-19, the Phoenix scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 28-21 lead with 2:13 to go in the first half.
The Bulldogs, however closed the first half scoring the final five points on a free throw by Powers, a basket by Dawson and a pair of free throws by Paige Anderson. The Phoenix carried a 28-26 lead into halftime.
Elon pushed its lead out to 10 at 38-28 early in the second half. With the Bulldogs trailing, 38-31, Elon went on a 22-2 run to break the game open and take a 60-33 lead with 7:54 to go in the game.
Samford could get no closer than 22 points for the remainder of the game as Elon eventually won, 69-44.
As a team, Samford shot 30.4 percent overall and 18.8 percent from three-point range. Elon made 45.6 percent of its shots overall and 47.6 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 10, when the Bulldogs play host to non-conference foe Tennessee Tech. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
