Second-Quarter Run Lifts Elon WBB to 71-45 Victory at Towson

TOWSON, Md. – Elon University women’s basketball used a 17-point advantage in the second quarter and never looked back from there in picking up its first CAA road win of the season Sunday, Jan. 28, with a 71-45 victory over Towson inside SECU Arena.

BOX SCORE

The win pushed Elon’s overall record to 13-7 on the season. It now stands at 5-4 at the halfway point of its CAA schedule and has nine games remaining before the CAA Tournament in Philadelphia. Towson now stands at 8-12 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

THE RUNDOWN
All square at 14 after one quarter, Elon made its move with a 24-7 second quarter to lead by 17 at halftime. The Phoenix opened the frame on a 7-0 run with a three-pointer from Shay Burnett and two buckets in the paint from Malaya Johnson and Ra’Shika White. Though a Raine Bankston free throw ended the scoreless run, Elon was still on the move with a Saadia Munford three-pointer before Burnett rattled off five-straight points to extend the Elon streak to 15-1 with 4:10 to go before half. Down the stretch, Johnson, Meme Garner, Lexi Mercer and Jaylin Powell all got in the scoring act to push Elon to its 38-21 halftime advantage.

Out of half, Elon advanced the lead to as many as 21 in the opening 90 seconds behind layups from Anna Popovic and Jada Graves. It again led by 21 at 51-30 with 3:11 to go after a Munford layup. Towson then closed the third quarter on a 9-3 run to bring Elon’s advantage to 15 at 54-39 after three.

The Phoenix answered nicely, though, in the fourth by opening the final 10 minutes with a 13-3 run in the first 6:40 to go up by 25. It eventually led by 27 on the way to closing out the win with a 17-6 fourth quarter.

HIGHLIGHTS
Burnett led the Phoenix with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-13 from the floor to go with six assists. Ra’Shika White reached double figures for the 11th time in the last 12 games with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six rebounds. Munford closed the afternoon with nine points and seven rebounds and Garner had seven points.

Bankston paced Towson with 16 points on 5-of-12 from the floor, but she went 6-for-14 from the free throw line. Nukiya Mayo finished with three points, but she had a game-high 10 rebounds. No other Tiger had more than Mary Cuevas’ seven points. Cuevas entered the game averaging 14.5 points and 9.7 rebounds, but was held to just the seven points and one rebound.

NOTES
-The Phoenix is now 6-1 in games immediately following a loss. It went 4-2 last season after a loss.
-At the halfway point of CAA play, Elon’s four losses all came on the road to James Madison, Drexel, Delaware and William & Mary. All four teams have yet to visit Alumni Gym, a place Elon is 4-0 in CAA play and 8-0 overall this year. JMU, Drexel and Delaware comprise the CAA’s top three teams and William & Mary is tied for fourth with the Phoenix and Northeastern.
-Elon is now finished with its regular-season series against Towson and Delaware, but has yet to play College of Charleston and Hofstra this year.
-Towson has lost two of its last three games with both of the defeats coming at the hands of the Phoenix.
-Elon moves to 7-1 all-time against the Tigers and has now won five in a row in the series.

UP NEXT
Elon will close a three-game road trip when it visits College of Charleston on Friday, Feb. 2. The Phoenix swept CofC last season, winning 84-56 on the road and 70-57 in Alumni Gym and is 11-1 in the last 12 games against the Cougars with seven-straight wins in the series.