Top-Seeded Elon WBB Downs Hofstra to Advance to CAA Semifinals

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Elon University women’s basketball team led from the onset and never looked back, downing the Hofstra Pride, 78-50, in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 9, at the JMU Convocation Center.

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Elon (25-6) advances to tomorrow’s semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. where the top-seeded Phoenix takes on fourth-seeded William & Mary. Elon went 2-0 against the Tribe this season, winning by two points in Williamsburg, Va., before topping the Tribe by 23 on Senior Night last month in Alumni Gym. William & Mary advanced to the semifinals with a 59-44 victory over fifth-seeded Delaware.

“I think the beauty of our team is the balance of our team and the key point today was sharing the basketball,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “We wanted to rely on each other and make sure we didn’t have a one-man show, and that’s the strength of our team. Controlling what we can control is going to be key for us. We can control our effort, defense and rebounding, and those are the things we’ve been harping on all season long.”

The Phoenix dominated nearly every facet of the game, shooting 52.6 percent from the floor – its best percentage against a conference opponent this season.

Four players finished in double figures for Elon, as Essence Baucom led the way with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, including a 3-for-3 clip from beyond the arc. Jenifer Rhodes went 7-of-11 from the floor to end the game with 14 points while Lauren Brown and Shay Burnett finished with 11 and 10, respectively. Burnett also hauled down a game-high nine boards.

Stingy defense early on led to offense for the Phoenix, as Elon capitalized on Hofstra turnovers to take a 13-7 lead with 3:48 to play in the first quarter. Elon held the Pride scoreless over the final 2:43 of the first quarter to maintain a 15-10 lead after one.

Elon increased its lead to 10 in the early stages of the second quarter when Burnett found Rhodes underneath the basket with a beautiful pass to make it a 20-10 game, forcing a Hofstra timeout. Elon closed the half on an 8-0 run, leading 39-20 at intermission. The Phoenix dominated the paint, 22-4, in the game’s first 20 minutes, shooting a blistering 64-percent from the floor.

Jada Graves got in on the action in the third period, knocking down her first triple of the game with 4:15 to play to keep the Phoenix lead to 19 points. Elon ended the third period with a 23-point advantage and kept the Pride at arm’s length in the fourth to secure the win.