Elon Women’s Basketball Phoenix Breezes Past Catawba for Exhibition Win:Shay Burnett(Southern Alamance) leads Elon with 21 points

ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team looked strong in its lone exhibition game of the season with a 92-49 win over Catawba tonight, Nov. 2, in Alumni Gym. Elon’s 92 points marked the highest point total in an exhibition game under head coach Charlotte Smith.

Sam Coffer scored the game’s first points with a three and the Phoenix never looked back en route to the 43-point victory. Elon shot 50 percent (35-of-70) from the field, including eight threes, and finished with points from 10 of the 12 players that saw action, including 52 points from the bench. The Phoenix scored 52 points in the paint and claimed 32 points off 29 Catawba turnovers. The Indians were held to a 25.8 percent shooting clip and was outrebounded by the maroon and gold, 47-44.

“I’m excited,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “We have a lot of depth this year so it was exciting to play a lot of people. I felt like we did a great job of coming out and playing with energy. An area where I feel like we can improve is in rebounding. Overall, it was an exciting game for the fans and it was entertaining.”

Three Elon players finished in double figures, including newcomers Shay Burnett and Malaya Johnson. Burnett led the team with 21 points (8-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from three), while Stephenson hit four threes for 18 points and hauled down nine boards. Johnson finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Jennifer Rhodes, the 2014 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, tallied nine points, three blocks and three steals, while Essesnce Baucom dished out six assists and recorded four steals.

Elon jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the 15:47 mark in the first half after a layup by Johnson. Leading by four, 14-10, a three by Burnett sparked an 8-0 run that was capped by a Stephenson layup with just over eight minutes remaining. After an Indians’ basket made it a 25-15 game, Elon scored 14 unanswered to extend its advantage to 24, 39-15, with the help of two threes by Stephenson and two baskets by Johnson. A layup by Mackenzie Darrah with 19 ticks left on the clock gave the maroon and gold a 28-point advantage at the break, 45-17.

The Phoenix went 18-of-36 from the field to shoot 50 percent in the first frame, including 6-of-8 (75 percent) from three. Elon held the Indians to 25 percent shooting from the field (6-of-24) and forced 18 turnovers. Burnett was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and scored 11 points in the first half, while Stephenson led the team with 12 points.

Two quick scores in the second half by Rhodes and Stephenson made it a 32-point advantage for the Phoenix, 49-17. With Elon holding a 62-30 lead with 11:13 remaining, a layup by Shannen Cochraham started a 19-9 run that spanned over five minutes and moved the maroon and gold ahead, 81-39. The Phoenix saw its largest advantage of 46 points with 1:29 left on the clock when Johnson made a layup to make it an 89-43 game.

The Phoenix opens the season officially on Friday, Nov. 14, when it hosts Anderson in Alumni Gym at 5 p.m. as part of an Elon basketball doubleheader.

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