North Carolina State University Athletics
Elon Wins 59-57
12/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2005
Elon's Kitara McMoore used a put-back as time expired to cap off a come-from-behind victory for the Phoenix. With the win, Elon improves to 3-3, while Southern Miss dropped to 2-5. Elon finished with three players in double figures, led by Robyn Shipley's 12 points. Kitara McMoore and Nikko King each had 10 points. Southern Miss's Ashley Boehnel led the game with 18 points.
Southern Miss held the lead the entire first half, but didn't stretch the margin to 10 until 2:20 in the first half. Elon turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, allowing USM to control the tempo for the majority of the 20 minutes. Fortunately for the Phoenix, two of USM's seven turnovers came in the final three minutes, which allowed Elon to stay within reach. The Golden Eagles reached its largest lead of the game after a layup from Emer Foley pushed the score to 34-24. But Elon challenged USM for the lead as the game drew closer to halftime. The Phoenix used a 5-0 run to cut the lead in half with 15 seconds to go and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to come within four, 36-32. A steal by Elon's Tierra Bumbrey with 45 left in the first half brought Elon within five and a three-pointer from Allison Nicole cut the Southern Miss lead to four heading into the break. Nicole Allison knocked down a three-pointer from the right side baseline to give Elon some momentum heading in the break. Elon's Nikko King was perfect as she hit all five of her shot attempts to lead the Phoenix with 10 points. Two Golden Eagles players had double figures, led by Ashley Boehnel's game-leading 14 points. Liz Biland added 10 points.
Elon continued to battle and used its momentum from the end of the first half to get ahead of the Golden Eagles. The Phoenix finally took its first lead of the game at 43-42 five minutes into the second period. The margin stretched to six, 48-42, with just under 13 minutes to go. Elon's Robyn Shipley hit a three-pointer on the left sideline to increase the Phoenix lead. Elon remained on top and in control until the click went under three minutes. USM used a three-pointer and a couple of jumpers to cut the lead to two with two minutes remaining. With the score at 54-52 and the time quickly dissipating, Elon's Shipley hit another clutch three-pointer to increase the Phoenix lead to five, 57-52 with a minute left. But some costly mistakes erased Elon's grip on a possible victory. The Phoenix gave up several offensive rebounds and turned the ball over, allowing two open layups and three free throws were the key for USM to tie the score at 57 with just 31 seconds left to go. Elon tried an isolation play to go for a last second shot with time running out, but her shot missed the rim and the shot clock rang. On the following play, USM through the ball out of bounds, allowing the entire five seconds to remain on the clock for Elon to use for a desperation win. Kitara McMoore collected an offensive rebound for the put-back and gave the Phoenix the thrilling win, 59-57. She finished the game with 10 points.
