Elon WBB Phoenix Faces Road Test at Duke on Sunday

ELON, N.C. – Coming off its first win of the season, the Elon University women’s basketball team travels to Durham, N.C., to face Duke, on Sunday, Nov. 18, inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tip-off between the Phoenix and the Blue Devils is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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The contest will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra. Fans can also listen to the game on WSOE 89.3 with Matt Holzapfel (play-by-play) and Drew Gentry (color) on the call. Other updates of the game between the Phoenix and the Blue Devils will be provided on Twitter at the handle @ElonWBasketball.

Pregame Social
Prior to the Phoenix’s game on Sunday, the Elon Phoenix Club is hosting a pregame social held at the Lounge inside of JB Duke Hotel. Come join other Phoenix alums, parents and fans as we cheer on the Phoenix against the Blue Devils. The social will end 30 minutes prior to tipoff to allow time to get to Cameron Indoor Stadium for tipoff.

Series History (Series tied at 4-4)
Elon and Duke will face each other on the hardwood for the ninth time on Sunday in a series dating back to 1976. The Blue Devils have won the last four meetings including a 68-61 victory in the most recent contest in 2016 at Duke. Elon’s last victory over Duke came in 1977.

Last Time Out
Elon earned its first victory of the season at North Carolina Central on Tuesday, Nov. 13, in an 83-54 victory. The Phoenix had four players score in double figures led by a career-high 18 points from sophomore Emily Maupin. Freshman Brie Perpignan also added a season-best 17 in her first career start while Lexi Mercer added 14. Ariel Colon posted a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in her first start of the season. The win was the 13th straight for Elon in its series against N.C. Central.

Fastbreaks
• Sunday’s game will be the second game this season that Elon will face a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Phoenix faced North Carolina in its season-opener on Nov. 6, for its inaugural regular-season game at Schar Center.
• Six players are currently averaging double-digit points for the Phoenix with Mercer leading the way with her team best 13.0 points per game. The junior guard is shooting over 50 percent from the floor (9-for-17).
• Maupin is second on the squad in scoring at 12.5 PPG and leads the team in rebounding at 8.0 RPG. Perpignan is team’s top overall playmaker with eight assists (4.0 APG) on the young season.
• Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie has ties to Elon as her daughter Maddie was a member of the Phoenix for two seasons from 2015-17. Maddie McCallie played in 64 career games with the Phoenix, making 27 starts, and was a member of the team that won the 2016-17 CAA regular season and tournament title while earning the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid.
• The Phoenix and the Blue Devils feature two of the youngest teams in the nation with Elon posting an average age of 18.77 and the Blue Devils at 19.43.
• Elon returns eight letterwinners from its team that successfully defended its Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title and made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
• The Phoenix closed out 2017-18 with a 25-8 record overall and a 14-4 mark during league play including a 13-game winning streak to close out the regular season and conference tournament.
• The Phoenix was tabbed to finish third in the 2018-19 CAA Preseason Poll as conducted by the league’s head coaches on Oct. 18. Elon received one first-place vote en route to 61 points for a tie for third place. James Madison (79 points) and Drexel (71 points) were selected in front of the Phoenix, who tied with Delaware for third with 61 points.
• Elon returns three starters from last year’s team including sophomore guard Saadia Munford, an CAA All-Rookie team selection in 2017-18. Munford was chosen as a Preseason All-CAA selection this season with her spot on the third team.
• Additionally, the Phoenix added five newcomers to the 2018-19 roster, which will again be one of the youngest in the nation with only two upperclassmen and no seniors.

Scouting Duke (1-1)
The Blue Devils head into its home-opener on Sunday with a 1-1 record on the young season after a 66-63 victory at Maine on Thursday, Nov. 15. Duke opened the regular-season at No. 20 in the nation, but fell out of the top-25 after its 84-58 season-opening defeat at Northwestern on Nov. 11.

Redshirt junior Haley Gorecki posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists in Duke’s victory at Maine and currently leads the team in scoring (15.5 PPG), assists (6.5 APG) and steals (5.0 SPG). Junior Leaonna Odom had 16 points against the Black Bears and is second on the team in scoring at 15.0 points per game and paces the team on the boards at 9.5 rebounds per contest.

Schar Center
After playing its home games in Alumni Gym since the start of the program in 1972, Elon moves into its new facility, Schar Center, this season. The 5,100-seat facility will provide an elite venue for Phoenix basketball and volleyball games in addition to convocations, speakers and other major campus events. The facility is named for Dwight and Martha Schar, of Palm Beach, Fla.

20-Game Winners
With 25 victories last season, Elon posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time as a Division I program. Overall, Elon has posted three 20-win seasons during the Division I era.

Up Next
Elon closes out its three-game road stand with a trip to Appalachian State on Tuesday, Nov. 20. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start in Boone, N.C.