Jan. 17, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to force overtime, but the Lady Catamounts could not recover from four missed shots and a pair of turnovers in the extra session as they fell to the Elon Phoenix, 77-75, Monday night in the Ramsey Center.

It was exactly five years to the day that Western (7-10, 3-7 SoCon) had last played an overtime game - a six-point, 77-71, loss to the Georgia Southern Eagles in Cullowhee back in 2000. For Elon, its second overtime game of the season resulted in its second victory of the year, snapping an eight-game losing skid. The Phoenix improved to 2-14 overall, 1-9 in the Southern Conference.

Western, which dropped its fourth-consecutive, was led by senior Jennifer Gardner with her fourth double-double of the season. She finished with 23 points, one shy of tying her career-best, and 16 rebounds. Gardner was a perfect 9-for-9 at the charity stripe, moving four spots on the All-time career free throws list into second overall with 351.

Senior forward Lori Tanner joined Gardner in double figures with 16 points, including 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and a season-high seven rebounds. Freshman Chevon Keith finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Elon, which tallied its largest scoring output on the season, finished 27 points over its seasonal average. The Phoenix was led by a trio of freshman and a senior in double figures. First-year guard Tiera Bumbrey finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists for Elon, followed by classmates Sade Jordan with 11 and Nicole Allison with 10. Senior Jessica Williams rounded out the double-figure scorers for Elon with 11, including 3-for-9 from 3-point range.

Elon led from the opening tip and never trailed in regulation. The Phoenix built a seven-point advantage midway through first half only to have Western trim it back to three, 18-15, on an offensive rebound and put back by Gardner with just under 10 minutes to play in the opening stanza. But Elon responded, inching ahead and taking its largest lead of nine points on two occasions inside the final three minutes of the half and led by eight at the break.

The Phoenix flew out in the second half with a 9-2 spurt to turn the eight point advantage into 15, prompting WCU head coach Kellie Harper to use a 30-second timeout. After the stoppage, the Lady Catamounts cut the Phoenix lead back down to nine with a quick 6-0 spurt.

Trailing by eight at the 7:52 mark, Western slowly began to turn the tide to close in on the Phoenix. The Lady Catamounts would take advantage of 15-of17 trips to the free throw line to hold steady with Elon, chipping away at the lead. Finally, at the 2:37 mark, Tanner converted two charity tosses to tie the game for the first time at 66-66. Elon reclaimed the lead by two when Nikko King laid in a Roby Shipley pass for two of her career-high nine points. But Gardner knotted the game at 68 apiece with a lay-up of her own with 34 ticks remaining in regulation. Both sides missed opportunities in the final half minute to end the game resulting in overtime.

In the extra session, Western converted a Tanner steal into a Gardner layup to take its first - and only - lead of the game, 70-68. Elon responded with four-consecutive points to reclaim a lead it would not relinquish again. Bumbrey connected on 5-of-6 free throws to seal the Phoenix victory.

Western Carolina concludes its three-game home stand this Saturday, January 22 at 4:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. Elon returns home to host Appalachian State on Saturday at 4:30 pm.