Late Surge Gives Elon WBB Win Over Tribe

ELON, N.C. – The last few Elon women’s basketball games have come down to the wire and today’s game was no different. Trailing by as much as nine points in the second half, Elon outscored William & Mary, 7-3, in the final minute after being tied to claim a 64-60 victory over the Tribe this afternoon, Feb. 22, in Alumni Gym.

With 54 seconds left on the clock, Shay Burnett was sent to the line for two shots. She made the first but missed the second, which led to an offensive rebound by Malaya Johnson and a three by Sam Coffer to put the Phoenix up by four, 61-57, with 34 ticks left. The Tribe was then forced to foul, sending Lauren Brown to the line, who hit both chances, extending the Elon lead to six, 63-57.

After a three by W&M made it a three-point game, 63-60, with 14 seconds left, Zora Stephenson went to the charity stripe and was unable to hit either opportunity. The Tribe claimed the defensive rebound but lost it out of bounds and sent Brown to the line again with four ticks left. Brown hit one of her two shots, sealing the win for the Phoenix.

“I thought we did a phenomenal job of offensive rebounding,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “We had struggled with our rebounding and wanted to give ourselves more opportunities with more offensive boards. Then down the stretch we were able to execute offensively against the zone. I’m excited about this win. It was a great game.”

The Phoenix (16-10, 9-6 CAA) finished 21-of-60 from the field to shoot 35 percent, including 7-of-17 for 41 percent from three, but claimed a season-high 50 rebounds for a 15-board advantage on the glass.

Coffer finished a perfect 6-for-6 on the day with a 3-for-3 mark from deep for a team-high 16 points, including seven rebounds and two blocks. Burnett posted her second double-double of the season and her career with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and two steals.

The Tribe (12-14, 6-9 CAA) shot 39 percent from the field after going 23-of-59 and went 7-of-16 from long distance for a 44 percent mark. Jazmen Boone scored a game-high 17 points, while Marlena Tremba added 16 points.

In the first half, the Tribe moved ahead by four twice in the first eight minutes, before threes by Brown and Coffer kept the Phoenix within one. With W&M holding a 13-12 advantage, the Tribe scored the next five points to take a six-point edge, 18-12, at the 10:11 mark.

W&M took as much as a seven-point advantage, 26-19, before a jumper by Shannen Cochraham at the 1:05 mark made it 26-21 at the break.

The Phoenix was held to a 16 percent mark in the first frame (5-of-21) and led on the boards, 27-21, while the Tribe shot 39 percent (11-of-28) and had 18 points in the paint.

In the first 70 seconds of the second half, Elon cut the deficit to one, 28-27, after a steal by Josepha Mbouma allowed a Baucom layup. Back-to-back baskets by Burnett tied the game and then gave Elon a 32-30 lead at the 17:13 mark. The Tribe responded with a 17-6 run to take a nine-point advantage, 47-38, with 11:21 to play.

Elon answered with a Stephenson three to keep the game with reach, 47-41, with just over 10 minutes remaining. With 3:24 on the clock, Coffer hit her second straight basket from long distance to trim the Tribe lead to just two, 57-55. Just 50 seconds later, Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the layup to tie the game for the third time, 57-all.

Elon plays its final two road games of the regular season next weekend, beginning with a bout at Drexel on Friday, March 27, at 7 p.m. in Philadelphia.