Box Score March 4, 2010
Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tenth-seeded Elon earned an upset over seventh-seeded Wofford in the first round of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship by a score of 67-53.
The Phoenix opened the game with a 5-0 run, holding the Terriers scoreless through the first media timeout. Mahagony Williams put the first points on the board for Wofford, knocking down a two-pointer with 14:23 on the clock.
Elon continued to score, working up to an 11-2 advantage at the 12:29 mark. A jumper from Natalie Gramblin and a made three-pointer from Kelly Dwyer put the Terriers within four points with 11:30 remaining, but Wofford could not match the Phoenix offense, which ran off seven unanswered points to give Elon an 18-7 advantage with 8:43 remaining.
Wofford struggled to connect from the field, and failed to score for the next five minutes of play, until a three-pointer from Maddie Helms with 6:24 on the clock cut the Phoenix lead to the single digits at 20-11. Elon continued to build its lead, working up to a 30-17 advantage at halftime.
The Terriers opened scoring in the second half with a jumper from Williams, who also connected on a second shot to help Wofford bring the score within 11 at 23-34. After a three-point play from Elon, which brought the score to 37-23, senior Kathlyn Varno scored two points to kick off a Wofford run of 11 unanswered points, putting the Terriers within three points at 34-37.
Elon responded with a run of its own, scoring 10 unanswered points until a layup from Natalie Gramblin stopped the run. A three-pointer from Freshman of the Year Ali Ford followed by another trey from Courtney Medley helped the Phoenix record a 6-2 run. Wofford continued to respond to each of Elon’s shots in the second half, but had a hard time making a dent in the double-digit lead.
The Phoenix connected on 12 of 20 shots in the second half, recording a 60.0% field goal percentage and a 71.4% from beyond the arc. However, Elon only outscored the Terriers in the second half by one point, 37-36.
Freshman Ali Ford led the Phoenix with 21 points, while senior Urysla Cotton notched a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Kelsey Evans also recorded a double-double, grabbing 11 points and 12 boards.
Junior Mahagony Williams led the Terriers with 20 points, including 14 in the second half, and added nine rebounds. Senior Natalie Gramblin contributed 10 points and senior Kathlyn Varno also led the team in rebounds with nine while adding eight points. As a team, the Terriers forced 22 Elon turnovers and grabbed 12 steals.
With the win, Elon improves to 12-18 on the season and advances to face second-seeded Samford in a 9:00 matchup on Friday, March 5. Wofford concludes its season with an 8-21 record.
