ELON, N.C. – Winners of four straight, the Elon University women’s basketball team returns home on Saturday, Nov. 26, to host Wake Forest at 2 p.m. inside Alumni Gym. It marks the first meeting between the two Triad schools in 36 years.
Starting at 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving night and running until Friday at midnight, fans can purchase tickets to the game online for only $4 (50% off) with the Black Friday Special.
THE SERIES: Saturday marks the 17th all-time meeting between Elon and Wake Forest. Elon leads the series, 14-2, and has won four straight. The two schools have not met since transitioning to the Division I ranks. The last meeting took place on Feb. 12, 1980, in Winston-Salem, N.C., where Elon claimed a 100-87 win.
COMMON THREADS: Elon and Wake Forest have four common opponents on this year’s schedule in Rutgers, James Madison, North Carolina and Duke. Elon’s Essence Baucom and Wake Forest’s Milan Quinn were prep teammates at the Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology in Charlotte, N.C., for three seasons.
ELON vs. THE ACC: Elon has a 19-18 mark all-time against current members of the ACC. Elon is 14-2 against Wake, 4-3 against Duke, 1-8 against NC State, 0-2 against Georgia Tech and 0-3 against Virginia Tech. Since making the transition to the Division I ranks, Elon has one win against an ACC foe – last year’s victory over NC State.
ELON vs. POWER FIVE: Elon’s win on Nov. 14 over Rutgers marked its first over a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Phoenix went into the game 0-1 versus current Big Ten members with a setback against Wisconsin in 2000-01. All time, Elon has an overall record of 24-36 against current Power Five schools.
LOOKING BACK: Elon battled back from a 13-point deficit to come out victorious, 64-58, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, against Bucknell. The Phoenix used a 22-9 run in the third period to secure its largest comeback victory of the season. Malaya Johnson went 9-of-13 from the floor to pace the maroon and gold with 18 points.
HOME COURT: Elon’s attendance of 983 inside Alumni Gym versus Rutgers on Nov. 14 marked the third largest crowd inside Alumni Gym for a women’s basketball game since the 1998-99 season. Alumni Gym has a capacity of 1,607.
MILESTONE WATCH: With 53 points this season, senior guard Lauren Brown has accumulated 835 career points heading into Saturday’s game. Not far behind, senior forward Jenifer Rhodes has 805 career points and junior guard Shay Burnett has tallied 788 career points.
FAST START: This season marks the second time Elon has started the year with a 4-1 mark under head coach Charlotte Smith. Elon began the 2014-15 season with 4-1 mark after five games.
OFF THE BENCH: The Elon reserves have been outstanding so far this season, outscoring their counterparts by a 42-point margin on the year, 118-76. The Elon bench has outscored the opposing bench in every game this season, other than Nov. 14 versus Rutgers, which ended up even at 16 points apiece. Jada Graves is averaging 10.4 points per game off the bench.
HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE SMITH: Elon head coach Charlotte Smith is in her sixth season with the Phoenix and owns career record of 91-71. Smith has led Elon to two straight WNIT appearances and three overall post-season appearances in the last five seasons. Her teams have won 18 or more games in three of the last four seasons heading into 2016-17.