ELON, N.C. – The Elon women's basketball team extended its current win streak to four games with a 80-69 victory over High Point today, Dec. 19, in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix saw a season-high 17 points from
Essence Baucom, who tied her career-high scoring mark with a 5-of-7 mark from the field, went 7-of-8 from the line and tallied six assists.
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"I am pleased that we got the win," said Elon head coach
Charlotte Smith. "There are some things we could have done to be a better team tonight. We got off to a really great start, offensively and defensively, and felt like we kind of got comfortable when we had the lead and let them get back in the game. Overall, I'm happy we got the win as we move forward."
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The Phoenix (7-2) shot 42 percent from the field after going 27-of-64, including a 27 percent mark from three, and went 22-of-28 from the line for 79 percent. The Panthers (3-8) knocked down 26-of-57 to shoot 46 percent and 27 percent from beyond the arc, along with an 87 percent mark (14-of-16) from the charity stripe. Elon won the battle on the boards, 38-34, and outscored HPU in the paint, 40-28, and off the bench, 45-21. The Phoenix also added nine blocks in the game compared to two by the Panthers and scored 28 points off 23 HPU turnovers.
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Shay Burnett tallied 16 points for the maroon and gold after also going 7-of-8 from the line.
Jenifer Rhodes added 13 points and posted a game-high seven rebounds.
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HighlightsAfter the Panthers took a 7-4 lead in the first period, Burnett hit a layup and was fouled, finishing off the old-fashioned three-point play to give Elon its first advantage, 11-10. Burnett then found
Josepha Mbouma who drove to the basket for the score, making it a 13-12 game at the 3:39 mark to start a 12-0 run for the Phoenix. A Baucom layup with two seconds left gave the maroon and gold a 25-14 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
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Back-to-back baskets by Rhodes in the first minute of the second period moved the Phoenix to a 15-point lead, 29-14. A three by
Nikki McDonald with 5:25 on the clock kept Elon in front, 35-20, before a 6-0 run by the Panthers closed the gap to nine, 35-26, with 4:05 remaining. The maroon and gold closed out the first half with five straight, including a Baucom offensive rebound for a layup as time expired to make it a 40-26 game at the break.Â
Holding a 32-46 lead, Elon claimed back-to-back scores in the span of seven seconds off a pair of steals. McDonald tallied the first steal, which led to a Baucom layup, before Baucom grabbed a baseline steal on the inbound play and got it to McDonald for the second score to make it an 18-point advantage, 50-32, with 6:08 on the clock. A three by
Maddie McCallie with just over a minute remaining moved the Phoenix ahead by 19 as the maroon and gold finished the period with a 64-45 lead.
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HPU cut its deficit to 10, 67-57, with 5:18 on clock before four straight by Burnett, including a layup after taking the ball the length of the floor made it a 14-point game, 71-57. With three minutes remaining, Burnett knocked down a three-point shot after a second look to make it a 75-59 game. The Panthers managed to make it a eight-point game, 76-68, with 1:07 left, but it was too little too late as the Phoenix knocked down free throws for the 11-point final differential.
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NotesThis was the first win for Elon over High Point in the last seven meetings…The Phoenix last won against the Panthers on March 1, 2003…The last win for the maroon and gold against HPU was on Jan. 25, 2003…High Point leads the series, 39-37…The Phoenix has now won six of its last seven games with a current four-game win streak.
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Next UpElon travels to Columbia, S.C., to take on No. 2 South Carolina on Tuesday, Dec. 22, for its last game before the holiday break. Tip is set for 7 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena and will also air on SEC Network+.
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-- ELON --
