Elon WBB Phoenix Wins 17th Straight Home Game on Senior Day

ELON, N.C. – Elon University women’s basketball picked up its 17th consecutive home victory on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 25, with an 80-55 win over Hofstra on Senior Day in Alumni Gym.

BOX SCORE

The Phoenix, now 20-7 on the season and 12-4 in CAA play with two games remaining in the regular season, has won eight in a row going back to January and completed a perfect month of February at 7-0. Hofstra is now 11-17 overall and 5-12 in CAA play. It has lost nine of its last 10 games.

With the win, Elon has now won 20 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time as a Division I program. The 20-win campaign is the third of the Division I era. Overall, it’s the seventh 20-win season in program history and it’s the 50th CAA victory since joining the conference before the 2014-15 season. Only James Madison (64) and Drexel (52) have more conference wins since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.

THE RUNDOWN
After Hofstra opened the afternoon with a 5-2 lead, Elon took control with a 19-5 run that extended to a 30-9 stretch into the early part of the second quarter that put the Phoenix up 32-14. While Elon was building its lead, Elon held Hofstra off the scoreboard for 6:12 of game action. In the opening frame, Meme Garner, Shay Burnett and Jada Graves all hit three-pointers to help the Phoenix finish the afternoon 6-of-13 from long range. Burnett finished the first 10 minutes with eight points, five assists and three rebounds.

With a 14-point lead at halftime, Malaya Johnson went to work with 13 second-half points. Four Johnson points to open the half combined with a Saadia Munford layup to help Elon push its lead to 50-30 to start the third. While Hofstra answered with a 10-5 run to come back within 15 at 55-40, Elon closed the third quarter on a 9-0 run behind layups from Burnett and Graves and five points from Lexi Mercer in the final 23 seconds.

Nearing the midway point of the final quarter, Elon had put together an 11-3 run with Johnson scoring nine of those 11 points to extend the lead to a game-high 32 at 75-43.

HIGHLIGHTS
Johnson’s 17 points led the Phoenix. The senior shot 7-of-12 from the floor while pulling down six rebounds. Burnett also finished in double figures with 12 points to go with 11 assists and eight rebounds. Graves reached double figures for the sixth time this season with 10 points. She also had three rebounds and three assists. Mercer closed with nine points and three rebounds and Garner had seven with five rebounds and three assists.

Boogie Brozoski notched a game-high 26 points on 9-of-17 from the floor to go with eight rebounds and five assists. Marianne Kalin also reached double figures with 10 points while pulling down six rebounds with three assists.

NOTES
-Only once before has Elon won 20 games in consecutive seasons. The only other occasion was when it won at least 20 in three straight years from 1979-80 to 1981-82 under Mary Jackson.
-Burnett’s 11 assists tied her career high, which was set earlier this season on Nov. 17 against Hampton.
-Elon has allowed an average of 50.2 points per game in the last five home games while holding James Madison (43) and College of Charleston (44) under 50.
-All 11 active Phoenix scored on the afternoon.
-Before the game, Elon celebrated Senior Day with a ceremony to honor Shay Burnett, Meme Garner and Malaya Johnson. The ceremony also included honoring two team managers and three cheer team members.
-With 17 straight home wins, Elon extended what is already the longest home winning streak in program history.
-With one more win, Elon would match its overall record for most consecutive wins in the Division I era, which was set last season between Dec. 17 and Jan. 15.

UP NEXT
Looking to complete a perfect season in Alumni Gym, Elon will try to complete its 13-0 season with a 7 p.m. tip against William & Mary on Thursday, March 1. Throughout the night, Elon will celebrate its run in Alumni Gym, the only home of the women’s basketball program since the start of competition in 1972.