COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A magical season for the Elon University women’s basketball team came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship on Friday, March 17, as the 11th-seeded Phoenix dropped a 75-62 decision to sixth-seeded West Virginia at the XFINITY Center.
This year’s Colonial Athletic Association champions, Elon ends the year with an overall mark of 27-7 in a year in which the program made its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
“I think this game is a tough pill for all of us to swallow,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team for the way that the came out and played. We had a great came plan and executed and did a lot of things well today.”
Elon put three in double figures in the setback, led by a team-best 19 points from Shay Burnett. Lauren Brown chipped in 17 points, while Malaya Johnson added 10 points.
A strong third quarter from WVU proved to be the difference, as the Mountaineers went 10-of-15 from the floor in the third and held the Phoenix to a 5-of-15 clip. For the game, WVU shot 47 percent, including 8-of-17 from three. Elon went 4-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Elon ended the game with a positive margin in points in the paint (30-26) and points off turnovers (11-10), but WVU ended the game with a 38-29 edge on the glass.
Burnett pushed the Phoenix out to a 13-10 lead after the first quarter, scoring five points in the game’s first 10 minutes to help the maroon and gold build early momentum.
But the Mountaineers rallied, opening the second quarter on a 9-0 run to go ahead 19-13 with 5:56 to play.
Elon narrowed the deficit to one at the half, as Johnson hit two free throws in the waning moments to limit WVU to a 28-27 lead. Shooting just 9-of-32 from the floor in the opening frame, free throws proved to make all the difference for the Phoenix in the opening frame, as the team went 8-of-10 at the charity stripe in the game’s first 20 minutes.
Elon reclaimed the lead early in the third to put the Phoenix faithful on their feet, as a Brown 10-foot jumper gave her squad a one-point edge. After Jada Graves stole the inbound following Brown’s basket, Burnett nailed a long two to give the Phoenix a three-point lead with less than three minutes to play.
But the Mountaineers answered in the fourth, taking a 10-point lead with 5:19 to play when Katrina Pardee nailed a corner three to give WVU a 63-53 advantage. The Phoenix narrowed the margin to eight on a late three from Meme Garner, but the Mountaineers managed to keep Elon and arm’s length down the stretch to advance to Sunday’s second round game against Maryland.