 |  |
Phoenix Rise Up to Beat Furman 61-56
Jan. 23, 2006
ELON, North Carolina - Elon used a 15-5 second half scoring run to hand Furman its sixth straight loss in a 61-56 decision Monday night at Alumni Gym on the Elon campus. With the win, the Phoenix improve to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in the Southern Conference while Furman falls to 7-12 and 3-6 in league play.
The Phoenix took its first lead of the game on a jumper by Shashonna Moore at the 9:23 mark after Katie Whidden hit on a layup to tie the game at 50 with 9:23 left to play.
With the Lady Paladins trailing by three, 59-56, and 15 seconds left on the clock, Kitara McMoore scored on a driving layup to put the Phoenix up by five. Seconds later, a missed three-pointer by Chrissy Phelps ricocheted into the waiting arms of Elon's Nikko King and the five point victory was sealed for the Phoenix.
Stellar first half guard play was key to Furman taking a 37-30 advantage into the halftime break. Tommi Paris and Chrissy Phelps combined for 19 first-period points, while Melissa Liebschwager added seven on a pair of made three pointers. In addition, the Lady Paladins committed just six first half turnovers and outrebounded the Phoenix by one, 17-16.
Elon stayed in the game in the opening stanza due primarily to six-of-12 made three pointers. Robyn Shipley was responsible for nine points, all on treys, while Tierra Bumbrey added two and Nicole Allison contributed one. Bumbery and Shipley also dished of three first-half assists each, while Kitara McMoore, Nikko King, and Myra Donkin each claimed three rebounds.
At the end of the night Furman managed just 19 second period points and was outdone 39-28 on the boards. Paris led scoring with 14, while Liebschwager and Phelps each added 10. Jessica Lange knocked down four blocked shots, while Megan Scott claimed a team-high seven rebounds.
The Phoenix were paced by Bumbrey's 15 points, while Shipely added 12, all on three-pointers, and McMoore contributed 10. Nikko King led rebounding with 11 boards and Shipley dished off a team-best five assists.
Furman returns to action on Saturday with a 5 p.m. game at Georgia Southern.
