Nov. 16, 2014 Final Stats
ELON, N.C. - An 11-3 run midway through the second half propelled Elon to a 69-56 victory over the Navy women's basketball team Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gym in Elon, N.C.
"Elon went on a run in the second half that we couldn't recover from," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper.
Elon (2-0) held a 19-18 lead in the first half before opening up a 25-18 lead with 8:27 showing on the clock. Navy (0-2) immediately responded by scoring the next 11 points to take a 29-25 lead with a little more than four minutes left in the half. The Mids held a 31-29 lead with just under one minute remaining in the frame before Elon first tied the game on a jumper then hit a three-point field goal as the buzzer to end the half sounded to take a 34-31 lead at the break.
Turnovers hurt the Mids in the half as their 11 turnovers led to 17 points for Elon. Conversely, Navy accrued seven points after the eight turnovers it forced the Phoenix into.
"I thought it was a great game, especially in the first half," said Pemper. "It was neck-and-neck there. They (Elon) hit a big three at the end of the first half. We had 11 turnovers at halftime and that hurt us, but I liked the shots we took and the way we competed."
Elon went on a 7-0 run to open a 46-38 lead early in the second half, but Navy just as quickly whittled the margin down to three points at 46-43 with 14:39 left in the game. The Phoenix then went on their 11-3 run over the next five minutes to build a 57-46 advantage with 9:20 remaining. Navy sliced four points off of that margin, but Elon scored the ensuing seven points to take a 64-50 lead with 4:38 showing on the clock.
After shooting 40 percent from the field in the first half, Navy made just 28.1 percent of its field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes of play. That included a 3 of 14 effort (21.4%) from three-point land. Conversely, Elon made 42.9 percent of its second half shots.
Elon held just a 38-37 advantage over Navy in rebounding on the afternoon, but the Mids tallied 18 second chance points to seven for the Phoenix. Additionally, Navy turned the ball over 20 times in the game while forcing 17 Elon turnovers.
Navy's offense showed good balance as four players scored in double figures. Danielle Poblarp (So., Topeka, Kan.), Chloe Stapleton (Sr., Cary, N.C.) and Sarah Reilly (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) each scored 11 points, with Haley Unger (Fr., Marlboro, N.J.) adding 10 points. Poblarp entered today's game having totaled nine points in her career, with five of those points coming Friday night at North Carolina A&T.
Reilly also snared nine rebounds while Justice Swett (So., Nashville, Tenn.) grabbed eight caroms.
Elon's Sam Coffer led all players in the game in scoring with 15 points to go along with five boards, four assists and four steals.
"It was too much 24 (Cofer)," said Pemper. "She is a good player. We got caught a couple of times with our hands down and she shot it right in our faces."
Navy opened its season Friday night with a 52-47 loss to North Carolina A&T. Five different Mids made their collegiate debuts on the season opening road trip, with five Navy players also making the first start of their respective collegiate careers on the weekend, too.
"We have been happy with how fearless they (the new players) have been," said Pemper. "Going into this trip we were facing the team picked to win the MEAC, and if Elon was still in the Southern Conference, they would probably be picked second, so we were facing tough and experienced teams. But I liked how we pushed the ball, ran lanes and were aggressive. There was a lot to like with how we played defense and how we followed game plans, especially Friday. And we battled, that's for sure. There was a lot of effort out there. I feel good about getting 10 kids minutes. We're closer to having a rotation in games."
The two games on the state served as homecoming games for Stapleton.
"It was really nice for Chloe to play so close to home," said Pemper. "She is a great kid who has meant a lot to our program. She must have had 20 people cheering in the stands for her today, so it was really special. We went to her house Saturday and spent time there with her family. It was a nice team outing and great to take such a young team there. We all had the chance to get to know each other better."
Navy will open up a six-game homestand Thursday night when the Mids play host to Mary Washington at 7 p.m.
