BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Elon women’s basketball team led for over 20 minutes of the game but was not able to hold on for a victory in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), falling at Virginia Tech, 68-59, tonight, March 17, in Cassell Coliseum.
The Phoenix (18-12) went 24-of-64 from the field to shoot 38 percent, including 8-of-23 from three for a 35 percent mark. Elon was only sent to the line four times, converting three attempts for 75 percent.
Malaya Johnson finished 6-of-12 to score a team- high 13 points and had six boards. Essence Baucom also tallied 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Shay Burnett hauled down a team-high eight rebounds, scored 12 points and handed out five assists.
“We didn’t get back in transition and we gave back a lot of transition points in the first half, which was the story of the first half,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “I think the complexion of the game also changed when they went zone. It made us feel like we have to take out shots but there were plenty of driving opportunities. My speech at the beginning of the game was that we wanted to get paint points, to be aggressive, put it on the floor and attack. We settled for too many jumpers and didn’t get back in transition.”
The Hokies (17-13) finished 42 percent from the field, going 25-of-60, 29 percent from beyond the arc (6-of-21) and 63 percent from the charity stripe (12-of-19). The Hokies just edged out the Phoenix on the boards, 38-36. Rachel Camp came off the bench to score a game-high 29 points to help the VT bench outscore Elon, 43-12. Sidney Cook followed with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Highlights
A jumper by Jenifer Rhodes at the 5:53 mark in the first period put the Phoenix up by six, 13-7, before a three by LenairaRuffin extended the advantage to eight, 18-10, with 4:27 on the clock. A Maddie McCallie jumper with 1:45 remaining kept the maroon and gold up by seven, 22-15, but the Hokies were able to close out the frame with five straight to make it a 22-20 game.
Elon opened up the second period on a 7-0 run, holding VT scoreless for over seven minutes to move ahead 29-20. The Hokies broke its drought at the 2:41 mark, going on to score 11 straight, including a layup as time expired, to claim a 31-29 lead at the break.
Johnson went on a roll in the third period, scoring Elon’s first six points of the half, to tie the game at 35-all at the 7:14 mark. A steal and fast-break layup by Burnett returned the Phoenix to the lead, 39-38, with 4:04 left on the clock. VT closed out the period on a 10-3 run to take its biggest advantage of the game thus far, 48-42.
With the Hokies leading by nine, 51-42, threes by Burnett and Baucom and a layup by Johnson pulled the maroon and gold within one, 51-50, with 6:11 to play. At the 4:27 mark, Lauren WBrown drained a three to keep Elon within two, 55-53, before VT answered with six straight for a 61-53 advantage, forcing a Phoenix timeout with 2:56 remaining. Baucom hit her third three of a game with 2:34 left in the game to bring the maroon and gold within five, 61-56, but that was as close as Elon would get as the Hokies held on for the win.