ELON, N.C. – Eleventh-seeded Elon University women’s basketball will make its NCAA Tournament debut during the 2017 edition of the Big Dance when it takes on No. 6 seed West Virginia on Friday, March 17, in College Park, Md.
The Phoenix, owner of a 27-6 record this season with the program’s first CAA regular season and tournament titles in program history, will take on a 23-10 West Virginia squad in Elon’s first NCAA Tournament game in program history at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner will move on to face No. 3 Maryland or No. 14 Bucknell in the second round on Sunday, March 19.
West Virginia is ranked No. 22 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday. The Mountaineers (23-10, 8-10 Big 12) defeated No. 19 Oklahoma and No. 14 Texas to advance to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament last week, and went on to upset No. 2 Baylor to capture their first-ever Big 12 championship title. West Virginia will make its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. The Mountaineers are led by sophomore guard Tynice Martin, who averages 18.6 points per game and was a unanimous All-Big 12 first team selection. Forward Teana Muldrow averages 14.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while forward Lanay Montgomery chips in 10.7 points per game and is the team’s leading rebounder with 8.9 boards per game. Elon is 0-4 all time against West Virginia, most recently losing a 67-57 decision to the Mountaineers last season in Morgantown, W.Va.
Led by a balanced offensive attack with Shay Burnett’s(Southern Alamance High School) 12.1 points and Lauren Brown’s 12.0 points per game pacing the team, Elon has had a season that will already go down in history as one of the best in program history. With 27 victories, the Phoenix has already won more games than any other Division I season in program history and is two short of tying the all-time program record of 29 in 46 seasons of women’s basketball. This season alone, Elon defeated five teams currently ranked in the RPI Top 100, including James Madison in the CAA Tournament title game, Patriot League Tournament champion Bucknell, regular season Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan and Drexel on two occasions while battling ACC foes Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest through tight battles.
Three members of the team surpassed the 1,000-career point mark with Brown accomplishing the feat on Jan. 22 at William & Mary, Burnett on Feb. 5 at UNCW and Jenifer Rhodes on Feb. 12 at James Madison. Head coach Charlotte Smith won her 100th career game back on Jan. 15 when her Phoenix defeated Drexel at home, 75-65. She has amassed 114 wins in her career to just 76 losses. With a 23-2 record in its last 25 games, Elon is one of the hottest teams in the country and is tied for the fourth-best record during that time frame behind 25-0 UConn and 24-1 Drake and Belmont. Both Maryland and Baylor are tied with Elon at 23-2.
NCAA Ticket Information
In order to be considered for tickets to Elon’s first-round game in the NCAA Tournament, fans must fill out the Ticket Request Form. Filling out the form does not guarantee tickets. To be considered for tickets, fans must fill out the Ticket Request Form by Tuesday, March 14, at 12 p.m. noon. The Elon Athletic Ticket Office will contact those selected for tickets on Tuesday, March 14, to complete transactions. For questions on ticketing, please email athtickets@elon.edu. Elon students do not need to fill out the Ticket Request Form. For more information on student tickets, please contact the Office of Student Involvement.
Keep Up With The Phoenix
To keep up with the team during it’s NCAA Tournament journey and beyond, be sure to like Elon Phoenix and Elon Women’s Basketball on Facebook and follow @ElonPhoenix and @ElonWBasketball on Twitter and @elonphoenix and @elonwbasketball on Instagram.
My Alma Mater is in the big dance! This is a team, T.E.A.M team. I have enjoyed watching them play over the years, but this year is particularly special.These young ladies don’t seem to care who there opponent may be they know that when they step on that court their intent is on winning and they expect it. If you want to see what an unselfish basketball looks like,look no further than Elon womens basketball. So to all the people out there who have doubted “little old Elon”, sit down and enjoy the show!