Brittany Dodson tallied a game-high six steals to move into 10th all-time at Morgan State with 119 career steals.
Elon 69, Morgan State 61
Bear Shots
BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 5, 2010)-Elon's Ali Ford, who scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the first half, shot 8-for-12 from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range to lead four Phoenix players in double figures, as visiting Elon defeated Morgan State, 69-61 in a non-conference game at Hill Field House on Sunday afternoon.
Elon's Kelsey Evans finished with 13 points, while Julie Taylor, a native of Columbia, Md., came off the bench and also added 13 and Lei Lei Hairston added 12 points for the Phoenix, who claimed the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
With the loss Morgan State (5-4), which is in the midst of a four-game homestand, has now lost two of the three games played. MyQueisha Bratton came off the bench to score a team-high and season-best 15 points, while Erin Hawkins and Brittany Dodson added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lady Bears, who were playing their second consecutive game and third in five days, appeared to show the affects from an emotional game the day before against rival Coppin State. Morgan State scored the game's first points and never led again.
Elon (5-3), which held a 13-point first half lead and led by as much as 16 points in the game, used a 16-7 run and a 9-1 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Ford to take a 23-10 lead with 8:18 to play in the first half. Morgan State countered with an 8-1 spurt to pull within 24-18, but Ford came down and sank a three-pointer and converted the free throw to complete a rare four-point play to up the Phoenix lead right back to 10 points.
Ford, who put on a shooting display in the first half, connected on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4-for-5 from three-point range. With Ford taking care of the offense from long-range, it was Evans providing an inside presence for the Phoenix, connecting on 5-of-7 for 11 first half points. The combination of Ford and Evans accounted for 26 of Elon's 32 first half points, as the guests took a 32-24 lead into the lockerroom.
The Phoenix, who led by as much as 16 points three times in the second half, held a 56-40 advantage, following a layup by Taylor with 11:26 to play when Morgan State tried to make a run.
The Lady Bears used a 14-5 run over the next six minutes to get within 61-54 after back-to-back three-pointers from Bratton with 5:08 to play, but Morgan State would get no closer.
Elon shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the field, including 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) from three-point range. Morgan State was limited to 34.9 percent (22-of-63) shooting, including 9-for-30 (30 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Phoenix had eight more assists (19-11) than Morgan State and held a 43-26 rebounding advantage over the Lady Bears with Evans and Lisa Archie leading the way with nine and eight boards apiece.
Morgan State committed 16 turnovers, but forced 28 Elon turnovers. The Lady Bears also held a 16-7 advantage in steals. Dodson recorded six of Morgan's 16 steals, giving her 119 steals for her career and moving her past Vinstel Watson (117 steals from 1987-89) for 10th all-time at Morgan State.
The Lady Bears will be off for the next 16 days, as they focus on final exams, before hosting Missouri State on Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m. The contest will be the final game of a four-game homestand and the final home contest of the 2010 season.
