ATLANTA, Ga. – The Elon University women’s basketball team earned an 84-67 victory over Georgia State to close out its stay at the GSU Holiday Classic on Thursday, Dec. 22, inside the GSU Sports Arena.
Essence Baucom scored a career-high 18 points for the Phoenix (7-4), who won its third straight contest overall. Jenifer Rhodes added 17 for the maroon and gold while Lauren Brown contributed with 16. Shay Burnett filled the stat sheet with a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while also adding seven assists and three steals. Both Baucom and Burnett were placed on the GSU Holiday Classic All-Tournament team.
Georgia State (4-7) was led by Jada Lewis, who had a game-high 21 points. She was joined in double figured by K.K. Williams and Makeba Ponder, who both had 13.
The Rundown
The Phoenix got out to a hot start to open the game in the first quarter. Elon opened the contest on an 8-0 run before Georgia State took a timeout at the 7:04 mark. The Panthers scored its first bucket of the game after the timeout, but Elon answered with a 19-5 run to close out the opening period with a 20-point advantage, 27-7.
Elon saw its lead expand to 22, 38-16, with 4:27 remaining in the second quarter after Baucom connected on a couple of free throws. The Phoenix saw that advantage nearly cut in half as GSU went on a 10-0 run to close out the half and trail the Phoenix by 12, 38-26.
Georgia State extended that run into the second half to trim its deficit to eight after a K.K. Williams basket at the 8:42 mark in the third. Consecutive baskets by Brown and Malaya Johnson put the Phoenix back up by 12 before GSU answered to put it back to 10 after two more Williams free throws. Both teams virtually traded buckets before Elon closed out the period on a 9-4 run capped by a Baucom jumper at the buzzer to extend Elon’s advantage to 61-44.
In the fourth, Elon twice pushed its lead to 19 with the more recent advantage coming after a Burnett free throw at the 4:48 mark. The Panthers continued to battle to bring the game within 12 after Lewis’ jumper made the score 79-67 with two minutes left to play. The Phoenix would hold off GSU from scoring again while pulling away with the 84-67 victory.
Up Next
Elon returns after the holiday break for a home contest versus King College on Wednesday, Dec. 28. That game tips off at 5:30 p.m.