Feb. 17, 2004

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Elon's Jessica Williams led all scorers with 19 points, while teammate Brianne Gray led the field with a career-high 17 rebounds as the Phoenix outplayed Western Carolina to claim the 57-45 win. The Catamounts were outrebounded 46-30 in the loss and fall to 9-15 overall, 8-9 in Southern Conference action. Elon improves to 15-9 overall and 11-6 in the league.

The Noon game marked the Third Annual Education Day at the Ramsey Center as a crowd of over 500 area fifth and sixth grade students were on hand to cheer on the Lady Cats. However, all the cheering fell short of boosting Western's game as the Catamounts were held to just 32.7 percent shooting from the field (14.3 percent from 3-point range) and 53.8 percent from the free throw line. WCU turned the ball over just 13 times, while forcing 16 Phoenix turnovers.

Western Carolina's only lead of the game came on a trey by senior Yoneko Allen to make the score 3-2 in the opening minute of the contest. Elon built its lead to as many as 12 points after a jumper by Gray at 7:48 made the score 21-9. The Cats closed to within four points on three occasions before the break, including just before the buzzer as senior Tiffany Hamm hit one of her two free throws to mark the score at 26-22 as the teams headed to the locker room.

An energized Catamount team came out to open the second half on a 4-0 run to knot the score at 26 apiece on consecutive field goals by senior Christy Blackwell. But the Phoenix quickly took charge, going on a 7-0 run of their own before a layup by junior Lori Tanner brought Elon's lead back to five (33-28) with 15:06 on the clock. The margin bounced between five and 10 points for the next 10 minutes. Two free throws by Courtney Nyborg in the final 40 seconds of the game matched the Phoenix's largest lead of the game at 12 and proved to be the final score at 57-45.

Junior Jennifer Gardner led the Catamounts with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, adding seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Hamm led the team with eight boards, pitching in eight points, three assists and one block.

In addition to Williams' game-leading 19 points, the guard added four rebounds and an assist, while Gray had 14 points to go along with her game-high 17 boards for her third double-double of the season. She also dished out a game-high four assists. Nyborg posted 13 points for the Phoenix with seven rebounds and Elon's lone block. The Phoenix shot 38.9 percent from the floor (21-of-54) and 80 percent from the line (12-of-15).

Western Carolina finishes its home stand Saturday, Feb. 21, as the Cats host Furman at 4:00 pm. The game can be heard live on WRGC 680 AM. Elon returns home to host conference-leading Chattanooga also on Saturday for a 4:30 pm tip-off.