Elon Stops Lady Eagles' Win Streak
1/4/2011 2:18:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Elon, N.C. - Elon closed the first half with a 10-0 run and the Georgia Southern Women's Basketball (5-9, 2-3 SoCon) team could not close the gap Monday night, falling 77-61 at Alumni Gym. The Phoenix (7-5, 2-2 SoCon) came out of halftime with a 9-2 run and shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half in the first Southern Conference game of the new year.
Sophomore guard Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) followed up her previous career-best performance against High Point with a new career-high 24 against Elon. Frye's fourth-straight double-digit performance led all scorers while Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) had five rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles. Senior guard Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) had 16 points on the night.
The Lady Eagles had nine three-pointers to five for the Phoenix, but Elon went to the free throw line 26 times, connecting on 20 to add to its point total. Kelsey Evans had 20 points, eight courtesy of the free throw line, and Ali Ford had 16 points. The Phoenix also had a 43-28 advantage on the boards as Phoenix Lei Lei Hairston pulled down 10 rebounds.
Frye had seven of Georgia Southern's first nine points and Navarro hit two quick threes to give the Lady Eagles an early seven-point lead, 16-9, in the first four minutes. Treys by Logan Youngblood (Sylvester, Ga.) and MiMi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) put Georgia Southern up by 10.
After a scoreless three minutes for Elon, the Phoenix cut the lead to four, 24-20 GSU, with just under eight minutes in the first half. Layups by Frye and Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.), interrupted by two free throws from Elon's Kelsey Harris, brought the Lady Eagle lead back to six.
Elon finished the half with 10 unanswered points, including two treys by Julie Taylor. Georgia Southern had seven misses in the final three minutes to drag its shooting percentage down to 34.4 percent for the period.
Frye started the second half with the Lady Eagles' first five points as a few turnovers and missed shots helped the Phoenix to a 41-33 lead. Layups by Williams and Frye to go along with four straight free throws by Frye wasn't enough to hold off the Elon offensive attack. Field goals by four different Phoenix players and four more free throws put the score at 56-42 with 10 minutes remaining.
Two free throws by Navarro and a steal by Williams for a Candice Ivy (Roswell, Ga.) basket sparked a 10-2 Georgia Southern run. Navarro hit back-to-back three-point baskets and the Elon lead was sliced in half, 60-52. The Phoenix kept on the boards and capitalized on turnovers to take the lead back to double figures. A layup by Navarro and free throws by Tate put the Lady Eagles down by nine with just over three minutes left in the game.
Hitting three of its last four field goals and five free throws sealed the game for the Phoenix as it held off a late Lady Eagle charge. Frye had a layup and hit a trey for the final scoring for Georgia Southern.
The Lady Eagles head to UNC Greensboro for a 7 p.m. Wednesday SoCon contest before returning home for a 3 p.m. date with Davidson on Saturday, January 8th.
Fans may follow Georgia Southern Women's Basketball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/ladyeagles or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates. Live stats and live video for the game against the Spartans will be available on the schedule section at the bottom of the main athletics website.
