Davidson Falls in Close SoCon Battle at Elon, 66-63

Monday, February 10

Elon, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Davidson College

12-12 (9-4SoCon

Elon

11-12 (7-5SoCon

Davidson

Elon

Dakota Dukes had her 17th double-figure scoring game with a team-high 18 points.

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

Davidson Falls in Close SoCon Battle at Elon, 66-63

2/10/2014 9:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

Box Score (html)
DavidsonPhotos.com

ELON, N.C. – Playing its second straight down to the wire game, Davidson was unable to hold on this time, falling at Elon 66-63 Monday evening in Southern Conference women's basketball at Alumni Gym.

The Phoenix (11-12, 7-5 SoCon) scored its final nine points at the charity stripe and used an 18-2 run midway through the second half to erase a 13-point second-half Wildcat lead for its third straight win.

They shot 52.2 percent in the second half after a 22.6 percent showing in the first half. Elon also went 15-for-20 at the free-throw line in the half and hit five of its eight three-pointers.

Down 65-63, Davidson had a chance to send it into overtime with 25 ticks left, but missed a shot down on the blocks on its first try and then missed again on an offensive putback by Shneeka Center. The Wildcats were coming off an overtime game Saturday at UNCG.

Center was one of three Wildcats (12-12, 9-4 SoCon) to score in double figures with 12 points off the bench to go with a game-high seven rebounds. Dakota Dukes scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Laura Murray, despite shooting 5-for-19 from the floor, netted 15 points and dished out four assists.

Elon's Zora Stephenson scored a game-high 19 points, including 15 from behind the arc. The guard sparked Elon's big run to get back in the game with two of the Phoenix four straight three-balls in a two-minute span.

Sam Coffer finished with 15 points, going 9-for-10 at the charity stripe, and Kelsey Harris added 14. She hit four of Elon's eight free throws to seal the win.

After Elon had closed to within eight, 39-31, Davidson went on a quick 9-2 run highlighted by a Murray and Eriksson three-pointer each to push its lead to 48-33 with 12:40 left in the game.

The Phoenix though started to chip away and behind its 18-2 run, eventually took a one-point lead, 57-56, on a Stephenson jumper.

It was short-lived as Murray later swished home four free throws in a row to give Davidson the advantage back at 60-57 with 3:46 to go. A Dukes' jumper a few minutes later gave the Wildcats their last lead at 62-61 with 1:52 on the clock.

Dukes sparked a Wildcat offense that shot 50 percent in the first half (16-32) and used an 18-6 run to open up a close game in heading to halftime up 35-22. The forward scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting and helped Davidson score 22 of its 35 points in the paint.

Davidson was held to just 30.8 percent shooting in the second half to finish at 41.4 percent for the game. It held a 41-37 edge on the glass, getting a season-high tying 16 on offense and scored 30 points in the paint.

Davidson returns to Belk Arena to play its final three home games, starting Saturday, Feb. 15, against Georgia Southern at 1 p.m. The game is also the Wildcats' annual Play 4 Kay contest formerly known as the PinkZone Game.

GAME NOTES: Davidson fell for just the eighth time in the all-time series vs. Elon (19-8) … Davidson fell for the first time when leading at the half (9-1) and with five minutes to go (10-1) … Murray's double-figure game was her team-leading 23th of the season and 90th of her career … dating back to the 2011-12 season, Davidson has gone 20-7 on the road in SoCon games.