Elon WBB Hosts William & Mary, Play4Kay on Sunday

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s basketball team hosts William & Mary at Schar Center this Sunday, Feb. 17, for the second matchup of the season between the Colonial Athletic Association foes. The game is also the Phoenix’s annual Play4Kay game with tip-off set for 1 p.m.

Follow @ElonWBasketball
The game will be streamed on Phoenix All-Access at elonphoenix.com. Fans can also listen to the game on WSOE 89.3. Other updates of the game between the Phoenix and the Tribe will be provided on Twitter at the handle @ElonWBasketball.

Play4Kay
Sunday afternoon’s contest against William & Mary is Elon’s annual Play4Kay Game to honor the late Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow. Coach Yow was Elon’s first head coach in program history back in the 1970s and had an excellent run with the program before moving on to NC State. Coach Yow passed away on Jan. 24, 2009, after a long battle with cancer, but her legacy lives on in the many student-athletes she coached and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund that was created to help raise money for research to fight cancer. In addition to wearing pink to Sunday’s game, please consider donating to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund on https://support.kayyow.com/elonwbasketball to help Elon’s student-athletes reach their goal of raising $5,000 for the organization.

Series History (Elon leads 10-5)
Elon will face William & Mary for the second time this season and the first time ever at Schar Center on Sunday. The Phoenix holds the all-time advantage in the series at 10-5, but the Tribe earned a 65-60 advantage on its home floor earlier this season on Jan. 13. Jaylin Powell led the Phoenix with 13 points off the bench while Emily Maupin added 11.

Last Time Out
A career-high 22 points from junior Lexi Mercer helped the Phoenix to a 72-52 victory at College of Charleston on Sunday, Feb. 10. Mercer also tied her career-best with five made three-pointers as Elon swept the Cougars in the regular-season series. Powell added 10 points for the Phoenix while Maupin nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds as Elon snapped a seven-game losing skid.

Fastbreaks
• Elon comes into Sunday’s contest with an 8-14 overall record and a 3-8 ledger in the CAA, which is currently eighth overall in the standings.
• Sunday’s game starts a three-game homestand for the Phoenix. Elon will welcome James Madison and Towson to Schar Center next weekend.
• Elon is fifth in the CAA in scoring at 64.5 points per game. The Phoenix is also in the top-four of the league in field goal percentage at .398 percent.
• Maupin has been a key part of the Phoenix’s offense this season. The Charlottesville, Va., native is averaging a team-high 12.0 points per game after only averaging less than two a game during her freshman year. She has also scored in double figures in 13 games and is averaging 12.4 PPG during CAA play.
• Six different players have led or tied the team-lead in scoring for the Phoenix this season, led by Maupin.
• Maupin is third in the CAA in field-goal percentage at .485 percent. Her team-high 6.7 boards per game is eighth overall in the league.
• Powell leads the CAA in three-point percentage at .444 percent. The Raleigh, N.C., native is shooting .500 percent from downtown in league games.
• 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 William & Mary (11-11, 4-7 CAA)
The Tribe are 11-11 on the season and 4-7 in the CAA after its 66-58 setback at UNCW last Sunday. The defeat was the fourth straight for William & Mary, who last won at Towson, 80-69, on Jan. 27. The Tribe are currently seventh in the league standings over the Phoenix and have posted a 5-7 mark on the road this season.

William & Mary is averaging 63.9 points per game, which is sixth in the CAA, and is fifth overall in field-goal percentage at .397. Senior guard Bianca Boggs leads the Tribe in nearly every statistical category including points (17.0 PPG), rebounds (7.2 RPG), assists (3.7 APG), blocks (0.8 BPG) and steals (2.4 SPG). During CAA play, Boggs is averaging 17.8 points per contest while pulling down 3.4 boards per game. Victoria Reynolds is the other double-digit scorer for William & Mary at 10.3 points per game overall, but Eva Hodgson has picked up her play during CAA play averaging 12.0 points per game.

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
The Phoenix welcomes CAA-leader James Madison to Schar Center next Friday, Feb. 22, with the Phoenix and the Dukes set for a 7 p.m. tip-off.