NCAA Women's College Basketball: Elon 77, College of Charleston 68

            The Elon Phoenix captured their first home win in Colonial Athletic Association play, defeating the visiting College of Charleston Cougars 77-68 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gym. Senior guard Zora Stephenson led the Phoenix (10-5, 3-1 CAA) with a team-high 27 points, hitting seven three-pointers (six in the first half) and all four of her free throw attempts.

            Trailing 38-24 at halftime, the Cougars (3-12, 1-3) scored 16 of the first 20 points after intermission to get within two. Charleston’s Breanna Bolden converted a shot from behind the arc to tie the score at 47 with just over 10 minutes to play. The sophomore forward tallied a game-high 29 points in the loss.

            Charleston recorded its first lead of the game (49-47) with 9:55 remaining on a layup by senior center Mikaela Hopkins. Elon’s Shay Burnett, a freshman guard, helped the Phoenix answer Charleston’s run, connecting on an and-one play and then on a fast break layup on a pass from sophomore guard Essence Baucom to pull the Phoenix back in front, 54-53.

            Stephenson helped the Phoenix pull away for the victory, totaling nine points in the final five minutes of action. Elon sealed the win with excellent shooting from the free-throw line, hitting 18 of its 19 second-half attempts from the charity strike.

            “We’ve been concentrating on free throws for quite a while,” Elon head coach Charlotte Smith said. “Coach [Christy] McKinney has really pushed the players to get in the gym and shoot 100 free throws a day.”

            Elon held Charleston to 24 first-half points on 30.3 percent shooting, but the Phoenix’s defense began to unravel at the start of the second half.

            “Bolden got too many open looks in the second half,” Smith said. “You have to know where the shooters are. You have to be cognizant of where they are at all times.”

            The Phoenix utilized their bench—which outscored the Charleston reserves 16-2—to push past the Cougars. No one on Charleston played more than five minutes in the defeat.

            “Coach rotates a lot of people and I think that’s an advantage because we can get fresh bodies in and out,” Stephenson said. “Other teams scouting us have to know 10 to 11 people and that’s tough.”

            Elon, which wrapped up its stretch of four games in eight days, hosts James Madison—the reigning CAA champions who are undefeated in conference play—on Thursday, Jan. 15. Charleston returns to action on Friday Jan. 16, with a home tilt versus Towson. 

Previewing the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament

The 2014 Southern Conference Tournament begins Friday. With College of Charleston moving to the Colonial Athletic Conference this past season, the Southern Conference shrunk to 11 teams . This meant that the number of first-round byes for the SoCon Tournament would increase from four to five. The five teams with a first-round bye in this year's tournament are Davidson (#1 seed), Chattanooga (2), Wofford (3), Elon (4) and Western Carolina (5). Although Elon and Western Carolina each have byes, they already know they will play one another on day two of the tournament in the quarterfinal round. Elsewhere, Davidson will play the winner of the Samford (8) versus Appalachian State (9) contest. Chattanooga, meanwhile, will await the winner of the Georgia Southern (7) versus Furman (10) matchup. Wofford will battle the victor of the UNC Greensboro (6) versus Citadel (11)  game. 

This will be the final SoCon Tournament that Davidson, Elon, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will participate in. Davidson and Elon are merging into the Atlantic-10 and the Colonial Athletic Conference, respectively, while Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are both transitioning to the Sun Belt Conference. Eastern Tennessee State University, Virginia Military Institute and Mercer University will join the Southern Conference next season, which will feature 10 teams for the 2014-2015 season.

Here is the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament  Bracket:

First Round Friday, March 7					Quarterfinals Saturday, March 8 ESPN3					Semifinals Sunday, March 9 ESPN3					Championship Game Monday, March 10 ESPN2
						1	Davidson
	8	Samford
	9	Appalachian State
						4	Elon
						5	Western Carolina
						2	Chattanooga
	7	Georgia Southern
	10	Furman
						3	Wofford
	6	UNC Greensboro
	11	The Citadel

Below are my responses to the questions provided by John Roberts of MocsMania as a part of his annual "Scanning the SoCon: Tournament Edition" post on his website. 

1)      Which team playing Friday do you think will go the furthest in the tournament? Why?

I don’t envision any of the six teams playing on Friday to make it past the quarterfinal round. If I had to pick one team, I would select UNC Greensboro, the No. 6 seed in the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament. The Spartans draw a favorable first-round matchup against Citadel, a club that lost its first 14 conference games before finishing the season on a two-game winning streak. If the Spartans are to advance as expected, they will battle Wofford on Saturday with the winner earning a spot in the semi-finals. The Spartans defeated the Terriers on Wofford’s home floor on Saturday night so an upset is fathomable.

2)      Which Top-3 seed is most likely to disappoint? Why?

Chattanooga is most likely to disappoint. The Mocs will draw the winner of the Georgia Southern-Furman contest. Assuming Georgia Southern defeats Furman, a club that recorded two of its three conference wins against the last-place Citadel Bulldogs, they will face off against a Chattanooga squad that they blew out on the road less than two weeks ago. Even if the Mocs are able to sneak past the Georgia Southern Eagles, they will likely oppose the Wofford Terriers in the semi-finals. The Mocs defeated the Terriers twice in the regular season, but it is an arduous task to beat a formidable conference opponent three times in one calendar year.

3)      What do you think would be the best match-up to see on Sunday in the semifinals?

A matchup featuring Davidson versus Elon (split season-series) will bring immense intrigue based on the sole fact that the Phoenix handed the Wildcats their only conference loss of the season. The Phoenix would love to avenge Davidson after getting torched by the first-place Wildcats at Alumni Gym on Senior Night.

4)      What team has the best chance to advance in the NCAA Tournament? Why?

Elon played better than any other Southern Conference team in its non-conference portion of the schedule. That being said, Davidson is riding a 12-game win streak (and if they win the SoCon Tournament their streak will increase to 15) and no team in the country wants to play a squad that has not lost since mid-January.

5)      Who do you think will play in the SoCon Championship Game? Who will win? Why?

My gut feeling tells me that Davidson will square off against Wofford for the Southern Conference Championship game. But the fourth seeded Elon Phoenix, the preseason conference favorites, could make some major noise in the tournament. Elon has the most talented starting lineup in the conference, featuring four seniors (Lucas Troutman, Ryley Beaumont, Jack Isenbarger and Sebastian Koch) with over 1,000 points scored in their respective careers. Davidson versus Elon seems like an inevitable semi-final matchup and the winner of that contest will likely win the SoCon Tournament. Conventional wisdom says that Davidson will be representing the Southern Conference in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, but it’s called “March Madness” for a reason: anything is possible. 

Southern Conference 2013-14 Season Wrap-Up: Player & Coach of the Year, All SoCon Teams & Final Power Rankings

Player of the Year

1.      Z. Mason, Chattanooga: The senior forward topped the SoCon in rebounds (9.5) and blocks (3.0) per contest and finished fourth in scoring (18.2 ppg). Mason is the best all-around player in the conference and was the main driving force behind a Chattanooga squad that far exceeded expectations.

2.      De’Mon Brooks, Davidson- The best player on the elite team of the SoCon, Brooks finished third in the conference in scoring (18.4 ppg) and field goal percentage (.590), while finishing sixth in rebounds per contest (7.0). 

3.      Trey Sumler, Western Carolina- Arguably the most talented 1-on-1 player in the SoCon, Sumler led the league in assists (4.4 apg),  finished fifth in scoring (17.9 ppg) and fourth in free throw percentage (.794).

Coach of the Year

1.   Will Wade, Chattanooga: Rookie head coach led the Mocs to a second-place finish in the SoCon, despite being picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll.

2.   Mike Young, Wofford- Directed young Wofford sqaud (only one senior on roster) to eight consecutive wins after starting off 2-3 in conference play.

SoCon Awards 2013-2014

1st Team All SoCon

Guard:  Trey Sumler, Western Carolina

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
17.9	4	4.4	.431	0

Guard:  Jelani Hewitt, Georgia Southern

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
20	4.5	3.2	.409	0.2

Forward: Z. Mason- Chattanooga

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
18.2	9.5	0.8	.492	3

Forward: De'Mon Brooks, Davidson

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
18.4	7	1.3	.590	0.8

Forward: Tim Williams, Samford

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
17.9	7.3	0.7	.611	1.5

2nd Team All SoCon

Guard: Stephen Croone, Furman

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
19.3	4.4	3.7	.468	0.3

Guard:  Karl Cochran, Wofford

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
15.2	4.9	3.1	.414	0.6

Forward: Sebastian Koch, Elon

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
11.8	5	2.8	.469	0.2

Forward: Kyle Cain, UNC Greensboro

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
15.3	9	1.2	.474	0.4

Forward: Lucas Troutman, Elon

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
16.1	6.3	0.8	.534	1.9

3^rd Team All SoCon

Guard: Brian Sullivan, Davidson

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
13.5	2.4	2.1	.409	0

Guard: Tre Bussey, Georgia Southern

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
16.3	2.4	1.9	.455	0.1

Forward: Matt Van Scyoc, Citadel

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
14.4	5.5	1.1	.429	0.7

Forward: Ryley Beaumont, Elon

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
10.2	5.1	1.8	.444	0.3

Forward: Lee Skinner, Wofford

PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	BPG
11.1	8.6	2	.472	0.2

Final Power Rankings

1.     Davidson (19-11, 15-1)

2.     Wofford (17-12, 11-5)

3.     Elon (18-13, 11-5)

4.     Chattanooga (18-13, 12-4)

5.     Western Carolina (17-14, 10-6)

6.     UNC Greensboro  (14-17, 7-9)

7.     Samford (12-19, 6-10)

8.     Georgia Southern (13-18, 6-10)

9.     Appalachian State (9-20, 5-11)

10.    Furman (9-20, 3-13)

11.    Citadel (6-25, 2-14)

Southern Conference Rundown: SoCon Power Rankings, Elon Season Update

As a contributor for MocsMania, a Southern Conference basketball blog, I am asked to provide power rankings on a weekly basis as part of a series entitled "Scanning the SoCon." I am also tasked with selecting the player of the week and the upcoming game of the week in the Southern Conference for this series. On some weeks, I am also assigned questions that range from a wide variety of Southern Conference related topics. To read this week's Scanning the SoCon, which includes other SoCon writers' opinions on power rankings, player of the week, various SoCon questions, etc., hop HERE. The post below will include my personal power rankings for the SoCon and a season update for Elon's basketball squad.  

SoCon Power Rankings

1.       Davidson (14-11, 10-1)

2.       Chattanooga (15-11, 9-2)

3.       Elon (14-11, 7-3)

4.       Wofford (13-10, 8-3)

5.       Western Carolina (13-11, 6-3)

6.       Samford (11-15, 5-6)

7.       Georgia Southern (11-14, 4-6)

8.       UNC Greensboro (11-14, 4-6)

9.       Appalachian State (7-16, 3-7)

10.     Furman (7-16, 1-9)

11.     Citadel (4-22, 0-11)

Current State of the Elon Phoenix

Elon (14-11, 7-3) extended its winning-streak to four with home victories over UNC Greensboro and Georgia Southern this weekend. Senior forward Ryley Beaumont paced the Phoenix with 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one block in Elon’s 72-66 win over UNC Greensboro on Thursday night. Beaumont became the fourth member of the current Phoenix squad to score over 1,000 career points, joining teammates Jack Isenbarger, Lucas Troutman and Sebastian Koch in eclipsing the century mark in scoring for Elon. Elon is now one of just two NCAA Division I basketball programs to feature four current players with over 1,000 points scored.

Elon seemed to be in complete control of this contest after entering the intermission with a ten point lead, surrendering just 25 first-half points to the visiting Spartans. However, Elon entered a lengthy cold streak from the floor, scoring just nine points in the first nine minutes of the second half. As a result, the Spartans were able to storm back to take the lead, using an 11-1 run to capture a 44-41 lead with under 11 minutes remaining. However, Elon came right back with a 9-0 run of their own to regain a lead they ultimately never relinquished. Elon won the game in spite of its dreadful shooting from outside, connecting on just two of 20 three-point attempts. The Phoenix has now defeated the Spartans nine consecutive times.

Elon seized its most thrilling victory over the season over Georgia Southern on Saturday night. The Phoenix defeated the Eagles, 60-59, as senior guard Jack Isenbarger hit a game-winning three pointer with .2 remaining in regulation. Beaumont led the Phoenix in points (14), rebounds (13) and steals (2), but Isenbarger stole the show with his clutch three-pointer from well behind the arc. With the win, Elon remained undefeated at home in Southern Conference play.