ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s basketball team edged out a 73-72 victory in overtime versus intrastate foe Davidson on Wednesday night, Dec. 5, at Schar Center. It was the second straight win for the Phoenix and its third out of the last four games.
Elon (4-4) was led offensively by sophomore Ariel Colón, who added her third double-double of the season with a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Saadia Munford tied her career-high with 15 points off the bench while Jaylin Powell contributed with 10 for Elon.
Overall, Elon shot 23-of-57 (.404) from the floor and was 7-of-19 (.368) from three. The Phoenix also went 20-of-25 from the free throw line with Munford going a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Davidson’s (4-5) Katie Turner had a game-high 19 points for the Wildcats, who shot 28-of-82 (.341) overall in the contest. Sarah Donovan and Justine Lyons had double-doubles for Davidson with 16 points each and 10 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
The Rundown
Davidson opened the game with a 4-0 lead, but Elon responded with a 7-0 run capped with a Powell three-pointer to move ahead 7-4. The Wildcats came back with a 8-0 run to push ahead of the maroon and gold, 12-7, but Elon outscored Davidson 6-2 for the remainder of the period and trailed 14-13 after the opening quarter.
Elon was able to keep up with Davidson in the second period despite the Wildcats shooting a blistering 7-of-12 (.583) in the quarter. A three-pointer by Lexi Mercer at the 7:53 mark gave Elon a 20-16 advantage, but Davidson answered with a three of its own to bring the score back to one, 20-19, 32 seconds later. After the score was tied at 21-all, a couple of baskets by Munford and Anna Popovic pushed Elon back ahead by four, 25-21, with 5:45 left in the opening half. Davidson continued its hot shooting for the quarter and went into the locker room trailing the Phoenix by one, 32-31.
Both teams went back and forth in the third quarter with four lead changes and three ties. A layup from Turner gave Davidson its largest lead of the quarter, 39-36, with 7:05 in the period, but four consecutive foul shots by Munford erased that advantage and put Elon in front, 40-39 with 5:05 in the quarter. Davidson tied the contest for the seventh time, 41-41, on a jumper with 2:24 left in the third, but the Phoenix closed the quarter on a 6-1 run and headed into the fourth with a 47-42 lead.
The Phoenix extended its lead to start the fourth quarter opening with a 7-2 run. A triple from Munford gave Elon its largest lead of the game, 54-44, with 7:58 left in the contest. That would be the last field goal scored by the Phoenix for over the next five minutes as Davidson clawed its way back into the game. A 9-0 run by the Wildcats brought the contest to a one-point game, 54-53, before a pair of free throws by Munford extended the lead to three, 56-53, with 3:22 left in regulation. The Phoenix broke its field goal stalemate as Ariana Nance scored on a fastbreak layup to put Elon up by six, 60-54, with 2:11 left to play. On the ensuing inbounds play, Munford stole the ball and earned a trip to the line, connecting on the free throws and putting Elon up by eight, 62-54. Davidson would not be denied however, blanking the Phoenix for the rest of the quarter and tying the game at 62-all on a layup by Lyon with 27 seconds left. The game would eventually go into overtime at that score.
A three-pointer by Lyon gave Davidson the lead to start the extra period, but Powell responded with a triple of her own to tie the game at 65-65. On the next Elon possession, Mercer added her second three of the contest to give the Phoenix the 68-65 lead with 3:33 left in overtime. The Wildcats trimmed its deficit to one, 68-67, on a layup by Donovan, but Elon went ahead by four on a free throw from Brie Perpignan and jumper from Colón. With less than a minute left in overtime, Turner sliced the Phoenix’s lead to two on a pair of free throws, but another Colón jumper with 34 seconds remaining put Elon back by four, 73-69. Turner came right back with a three and brought Davidson within one, 73-72 with 23 seconds remaining. A Phoenix turnover on the ensuing inbounds play gave Davidson possession and a chance to win the game on a final shot. Despite two opportunities, the Wildcats came up empty as Elon escaped with the 73-72 victory.
Up Next
Elon travels to Winthrop for a match against the Eagles on Sunday, Dec. 9. That game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start time.