ELON, N.C. – The Elon women's basketball team entered tonight's game tied with Delaware in the Colonial Athletic Association standings and separated themselves with a strong 62-45 victory over the visiting Blue Hens in Alumni Gym in the maroon and gold's regular-season home finale.
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"We talked about this night being special, wanting to send our seniors out with a bang and making it memorable," said Elon head coach
Charlotte Smith. "We wanted to come out and make a statement but also give our fans something to be hungry for next season. For the most part, I felt like we were pretty consistent throughout and had a complete game."
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The Phoenix (17-10, 10-6 CAA) finished 22-of-52 from the field to shoot 42.3 percent, including 6-of-14 from beyond the arc for a 43 percent mark. Elon shot a blistering 66.7 percent from long distance in the second half, hitting all six threes after the break. Elon won the advantage on the glass, 43-32, and saw a 33-12 edge in bench points.
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Shay Burnett tallied her second straight double-double with a game-high 19 points and another game-high 10 boards. The sophomore finished 5-of-19 from the field (3-of-6 from three) and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line to go with one assists, two blocks and one steal.
Lauren Brown followed with nine points, while
Essence Baucom had seven points and five assists.
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The Blue Hens (14-13, 9-7 CAA) shot 33.3 percent from the field after a 19-of-57 performance and was help without a three in the game (0-of-9). UD was sent to the line 11 times, hitting seven of its attempts. Makeda Nicholas, Sade Chatman and Erika Brown all finished with a team-high eight points in the game, while Nicholas, Chatman and Nicole Enabosi all hauled down six rebounds.
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HighlightsWith the game tied four-all in the first period, a bucket by
Malaya Johnson sparked an 8-0 run for the Phoenix to take a 12-4 advantage by the 4:54 mark. A long jumper by
Autumn Carter, her second of the game, kept the maroon and gold up by six, 18-12, at the end of the frame.
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The Blue Hens closed the gap to two, 20-18, with 5:58 to play in the second period before
Nikki McDonald grabbed an offensive board for a basket followed by a jumper from Burnett to make it a 24-18 Elon lead with 3:32 on the clock. A Brown free throw with six ticks left gave the Phoenix a four-point lead, 26-22, at the break.
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With the maroon and gold still leading by four, 28-24, Burnett hit Elon's first three of the game to return the advantage to seven at the 6:51 mark. Brown kept the differential at seven, 34-27, with another three almost two minutes later. Delaware was able to cut the deficit to six, 40-34, with four seconds left in the period before Burnett drained her third triple of the half as time expired to make it a 43-34 game heading into the final frame.
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In the final period, Burnett blocked a ball at the other end and grabbed the defensive board, getting the ball down the court to
Lenaira Ruffin. With a 2-on-1 advantage, Ruffin passed the ball to Brown for a fast-break layup to make it a 46-34 lead. With 6:29 remaining,
Maddie McCallie hit a three from the right wing to continue a run for the maroon and gold for a 17-point advantage, 53-46, forcing a UD timeout. Baucom closed out the scoring for the Phoenix, knocking down the team's sixth trey of the half with 1:29 left.
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NotesThe win gives Elon a 10-3 overall home record this season…Burnett's double-double marked the eighth of the season for the sophomore…Elon's 2016 senior class has compiled a 70-53 overall record over the past four seasons...The Phoenix improves to a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series against Delaware…This was the first game of the last three against the Blue Hens that did not go to overtime.
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Next UpThe Phoenix closes out the regular season in the next five days with two road games, beginning with a tilt at league-leader James Madison on Sunday, Feb. 28. Tip is set for 2 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va.
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-- ELON --
