Elon Women’s Basketball Knocks Off Big Ten Foe Rutgers, 66-54, at Alumni Gym

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s basketball team led from start to finish against the Big Ten Conference’s Rutgers, claiming a 66-54 victory over the Scarlet Knights on Monday night, Nov. 14, inside Alumni Gym.

BOX SCORE

Elon (1-1) claimed its first victory over a member of the Big Ten and second win in as many seasons against a Power Five school following its win against NC State last season. Elon led by as many as 27 points, as the Phoenix dominated the glass, 55-37, and held the Scarlet Knights to a 30-percent clip shooting from the field in the win.

“We knew this game would come down to defense and rebounding,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “I thought we did a good job of taking away penetration because we knew coming in they were a good penetrating team. We implemented the game plan to perfection in terms of making them a jump shooting team. I’m pleased with how we took care of the intangibles tonight – defense and rebounding.”

Elon put three players in double figures, led by Shay Burnett’s game high 20 points. Burnett knocked down 7-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three, to go along with nine rebound and four assists.

Lauren Brown added 13 points following her 17-point night three days ago against Green Bay, while Ra’Shika White pitched in 10 points and seven boards in 10 minutes off the bench.

The Rundown
Brown pushed the Phoenix off to a quick start in the first period after scoring Elon’s first eight points of the game to put her squad ahead, 8-4. The Phoenix held an 18-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.

White extended the Phoenix lead to 12 points with 3:05 to play in the second period and forced legendary Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer to call a timeout after scoring two straight uncontested buckets underneath the basket to give Elon a 29-17 advantage.

Elon’s lead ballooned to as many as 15 points in the first half en route to a 35-20 advantage at halftime. The Phoenix dominated the glass, 30-17, in the first half and held the Scarlet Knights to a 1-of-9 clip from three in the first 20 minutes.

Elon got off to a quick start in the second half, going on an 8-0 run to take a 43-20 lead just a few minutes in. The Phoenix eventually pushed the lead to 27 points, but the Scarlet Knights came back in the fourth period to make it an eight-point game.

Elon managed to keep Rutgers at arm’s length from that point forward, securing its first win of the young season.

Up Next
Elon returns to action on Friday, Nov. 18, when it faces Eastern Washington at 4:30 p.m. in the Preseason WNIT on the campus of Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.