WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Off a season-high 54 percent field goal percentage, the Elon women’s basketball team closed out the regular season on top with a 74-64 win at William & Mary tonight, March 2, in Kaplan Arena.
The Phoenix (18-11, 11-7 CAA) finished 27-of-50 from the field for the season-high mark, including a season-high 53.3 percent from three in conference play (8-of-15), and scored 34 points in the paint. The team also tallied another season-high 86 percent from the line, going 12-of-14. Elon dominated on the boards, 42-19, held a 35-8 advantage in bench points and tallied seven total blocks in the game.
Autumn Carter went 7-of-9 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the line for a season-high 17 points and also hauled down a team-high eight rebounds. Rookie Nikki McDonald posted a new career-high 14 points off another career 6-of-7 night from the field, including 2-for-2 from long distance. Shay Burnett fell just short of a double-double with 10 points and a career-high matching nine assists to go with seven boards, three steals and two blocks.
“I felt like we put a good lineup out there when we had Shay, Lauren Hudson, Lauren Brown, Jenifer (Rhodes) and Autumn out there. That made the difference in the second half with defensive energy and intensity,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “Autumn is a very capable scorer. We’ve been trying to convince her to be patient offensively because she’s a great shooter and a great finisher. I felt like she did a great job tonight of being poised.”
The Tribe (15-14, 6-12 CAA) shot 37 percent from the field, going 22-of-59, and hit eight threes for a 35-percent mark from beyond the arc. W&M finished 92 percent from the line (12-of-13) and scored 26 points off 27 Phoenix turnovers. Marlena Tremba led all players with 25 points and claimed seven steals followed by 19 points (9-of-18 FG) by Alexandra Masaquel.
Highlights
Trailing by one in the first period, a three by Lenaira Ruffin put the Phoenix in front, 12-10, at the 4:10 mark. Elon held the Tribe scoreless from nearly five minutes to lead by six, 16-10, before W&M closed out the frame with five straight to make it a 16-15 game.
The Tribe moved ahead, 22-19, in the second period with 6:34 on the clock before Burnett found McDonald under the basket in transition to put the maroon and gold back within one, 22-21. Tied at 26-all, two baskets by McDonald followed by a Carter jumper put the Phoenix ahead 33-29 with 11 seconds remaining. W&M managed to hit a three as time expired make it a one-point Elon lead, 33-32, at the break.
Baskets from long distance by Maddie McCallie and Burnett helped keep Elon in front, 44-43, with 4:40 on the clock. Another three pointer by the Phoenix, this one courtesy of Lauren Brown, started a 10-2 run to give the maroon and gold its biggest lead, 54-45, forcing a Tribe timeout with 1:34 left in the period. Elon extended its lead to 10, 58-48, by the end of the frame after layups by both Carter and Burnett, finishing the third period with a 25-16 advantage.
A layup by Carter at the 8:30 mark moved the lead to 12, 60-48, before McCallie made it a 66-53 game with just over five minutes remaining. The Tribe narrowed the gap to six, 66-60, with 2:35 on the clock but was forced to send the Phoenix to the line as the maroon and gold hit 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the last 2:07 to secure the win.
Next Up
Next up for the Phoenix is the 2016 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship in Upper Marlboro, Md., at the Show Place Arena. The tournament begins on Wednesday, March 9, with the championship game scheduled for Saturday, March 12. Elon will likely not play until the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10.