Elon WBB Falls Short Against Seahawks

ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team almost completed an impressive comeback but was not able to overcome UNCW, falling 86-82 tonight, Feb. 12, in Alumni Gym.

Trailing by 11, 84-73, with 38 seconds to play, five quick points by Essence Baucom and a basket by Lauren Brown pulled the Phoenix within four with 15 seconds left on the clock. Forced to continue fouling, UNCW’s Amber Reeves only made one of two attempts at the line as Sam Coffer grabbed the rebound that led to a Baucom three and put Elon within three, 85-82, with seven ticks remaining. While the Seahawk’s Ryan Flowers missed the first free throw, she made the second securing the four-point win for UNCW.

“I thought it was a valiant effort in the end to try and make the comeback,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “But I wish we wouldn’t put ourselves in that type of predicament. The way we alleviate that is through two simple things: defense and rebounding. Those are the things we have to focus on.”

Elon (14-9, 7-5) went 33-of-60 from the field to shoot 55 percent but was held to a 25 percent clip (3-of-12) from beyond the arc. The Phoenix scored 52 of its points in the paint and held a 30-11 advantage in bench points, while the defense tallied six blocks.

Malaya Johnson went 8-of-10 to record a team-high 19 points and posted three blocks. Baucom hit seven field goals and tallied 17 points, both career highs, while Coffer finished with 16 points and five assists. Brown made it four players in double figures with 13 points as Shay Burnett handed out eight assists for the second straight game to help the Phoenix to 18 assists.

UNCW (9-13, 5-6) finished 30-of-62 with a 48 percent mark from the field and hit 22 of its 27 attempts from the charity stripe (82 percent). The Seahawks claimed a strong edge on the glass, 40-27. Naqaiyyah Teague and Kelva Atkins led all players with 24 and 20 points, respectively.

The Phoenix stormed out to a 6-0 advantage in the first 90 seconds, forcing an early UNCW timeout. A Brown three put Elon ahead by as much as nine, 11-2, before the Seahawks pulled even, 14-all, at the 12:38 mark.

With UNCW leading by four, 20-16, back-to-back layups by Johnson and a three by Josepha Mbouma helped the maroon and gold to an 8-0 run over a 3:30 span to move ahead 24-20. Neither team would lead by more than four and the score would be tied four more times before a Baucom layup with three ticks remaining put Elon up, 36-35, at the half.

Elon shot 54 percent in the first half, including 33 percent from thee, while UNCW went 36 percent from the field and was held 0-3 from long distance. The Seahawks led on the boards, 22-16, and held a 12-4 second-chance point advantage.

Out of the break, layups by Johnson and Coffer helped put the Phoenix ahead by four, 41-37, before the game became tied for the seventh time, 43-43, with 16:46 to play. After a Coffer score evened the game once again at 50, UNCW used a 15-5 run to take a 10-point lead, 65-55, with 8:32 to play. The Seahawks led by as much as 13, 74-61, with 3:15 left on the clock before Elon began its comeback attempt.

The Phoenix remains home to host Hofstra on Sunday, Feb. 15, in its annual Play 4Kay game. Tip is set for 1 p.m. in Alumni Gym.

One thought on “Elon WBB Falls Short Against Seahawks

  1. The defense is porous (poor us).Constant subbing, the girls can’t get a rhythm started. Shay might have had 20 assists instead of eight, if she had the time to keep it going.

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