Elon Women’s Basketball to Hold Senior Day Sunday Against William & Mary

ELON, N.C. – Elon University women’s basketball is set to hold Senior Day on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. when it hosts William & Mary inside Alumni Gym. Prior to the game, the Phoenix will recognize Essence Baucom, Lauren Brown, Jenifer Rhodes, Maddie McCallie and Lenaira Ruffin for their contributions to the program.

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES
Elon owns a 6-3 record all-time against William & Mary after taking the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 22 in Williamsburg, Va. Since losing each of the first three matchups, Elon has won all six dating back to the 2003 season. Last time the two met, Lauren Brown was fouled with 1.4 seconds to play and she hit both free throws to lead Elon to a 60-58 win. In the game on Jan. 22, Brown hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter to pass the 1,000-career point mark.

ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe holds an 16-9 record to date in CAA play and has won three of its last five games against Hofstra, Towson and College of Charleston. William & Mary is currently fifth in the CAA standings with a 6-8 record and is led by Marlena Tremba’s 13.4 points per game. Alexandra Masaquel also averages 11.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest for the Tribe.

LOOKING BACK
The Phoenix earned a 72-61 victory over Hofstra on Thursday, Feb. 16, inside Alumni Gym. Elon got off to a hot start and took a 14-2 lead, but the Pride clawed back to cut the lead to as many as two on multiple occasions. It couldn’t overcome the deficit in the end with Elon hitting nine free throws in the final minutes to seal the victory. Lauren Brown notched a career-high 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 4-of-5 from long range. Jenifer Rhodes also added 14 points on 7-of-11 from the floor and Malaya Johnson chipped in 11 points. Elon’s starting five scored 70 of the team’s 72 points in the game with Lenaira Ruffin’s two free throws the only bench points on the evening for the Phoenix.

MILLENNIUM SCORERS
With three players – Lauren Brown, Shay Burnett and Jenifer Rhodes – reaching the 1,000-career point mark this season, it marks the first time in program history a trio of teammates have reached the milestone in the same season. Before this year, two players reaching 1,000 points in the same season had been done twice by Venessa Corbet and Lou Williamson in 1979-80 and Elizabeth Ward and Laura Case in 1992-93.

POLL WATCHING
Elon checked in at No. 30 in the NCAA RPI Friday, the second mid-major on the list behind Harvard (No. 27). It also ranks No. 8 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll. Elon is No. 8 in the espnW Mid-Major poll for the second week in a row.

20-GAME WINNERS
With 20 victories this season, it marks just the second time Elon has reached the 20-win mark as a Division I program and is the first time Elon has reached the accomplishment in regular-season play. Last time Elon reached 20 wins in 2010-11, the Phoenix finished 20-13 and recorded its 20th win in the 32nd game of the season in the WBI against USC Upstate.

THE STREAK
Elon’s nine-game winning streak from Dec. 17 against ETSU to Jan. 15 against Drexel was the most the team has won in a row as a Division I program. The last time Elon had won that many in a row came during a 12-game winning streak in 1981-82 under coach Mary Jackson. Elon’s only losses in the last 18 games have come against James Madison on Jan. 20 and Feb. 12 by six and seven points, respectively.

ON THE ROAD
Elon has been stellar away from Alumni Gym this season. To date, the Phoenix is 11-4 away from home, including netural games. Prior to the loss at JMU, Elon had won each of its previous nine road games. The nine-game road winning streak marked the longest streak for the program as a Division I team. The previous long was five games from Jan. 8 to Jan. 29 in 2010-11, the final season of the Karen Barefoot era.

UP NEXT
Elon will play its final two road games of the regular season on Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 when it travels to Delaware and Towson. First tip on Friday, Feb. 24, against the Blue Hens is set for 7 p.m. and Sunday’s game at Towson will start at 2 p.m. Earlier this season, Elon beat Delaware 69-42 and defeated Towson 83-55.