| Elon Phoenix (10-5, 2-2 CAA) at William & Mary (11-4, 2-2 CAA) |
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ELON, N.C. – With both teams at 2-2 on the year in CAA play, Elon University women's basketball will visit William & Mary on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 14, in a big conference matchup between two fo the league's top three teams in the preseason poll. The game is set to air on CAA.tv and can be heard over the airwaves on WSOE 89.3 FM with Drew Gentry and David Flynt on the call.
THE SERIES
Elon has won all seven meetings between the two program since Elon joined the CAA in 2014-15. The Phoenix leads the all-time series 8-3. Elon pulled out a two-point, 60-58 victory on Jan. 22, 2017, last time it was in Kaplan Arena. But when the Tribe visited Elon in Alumni Gym and the CAA Semifinals, Elon won 70-47 at home on Feb. 19 and 88-60 in Harrisonburg, Va.
ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY
At 11-4 on the season, the Tribe opened the year 9-2 with a strong non-conference performance. But like Elon, it's 2-2 in CAA play. Abby Rendle became the CAA's all-time blocks leader earlier this season. She has 75 rejections in 15 games this year, averaging 5.0 per contest. She also leads the team in shooting percentage, hitting 58.1 percent of her shots from the floor. Offensively, the Tribe is paced by Bianca Boggs' 16.1 points per game and Jenna Green makes the Tribe engine run with 6.7 assists in 38.0 minutes per outing.
LAST TIME OUT
In a rematch of the 2017 CAA title game, Elon and James Madison battled back and forth Friday night, Jan. 12, but James Madison had the final say in the game, winning 70-67 after a last-season three-pointer from Elon was off. James Madison led by as many as eight in the second quarter, but Elon finished the final 6:36 of the first half on a 19-7 run to take a 39-35 lead to the break. JMU erased Elon's deficit early in the third and the two teams were never more than four points apart throughout the second half. In the end, Kamiah Smalls hit a jumper and two free throws in the final 72 seconds to seal the win after Elon led by as many as four with three-plus minutes to play. Ra'Shika White led Elon with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
WHITE HOT
Over the course of the last seven games, Ra'Shika White is averaging 19.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per contest. She has reached 20 points on four occasions during the run, which was highlighted by her 23-point performance in the loss against Delaware.
TOPS IN THE COUNTRY
With 6.0 assists per game,
Shay Burnett is 23rd in the nation. Her 84 total assists are the 42nd most in the country. As a team, Elon's +10.7 rebounding margin is sixth-best in the country. Its 44.5 boards per contest is 12th-best.
#MALAYA1K
Malaya Johnson is 44 points away from becoming the 24th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point mark, sitting on 956 in her career in maroon and gold. The senior is seeking to become the fourth player in the last two seasons to reach 1,000 points after Lauren Brown,
Shay Burnett and Jenifer Rhodes each reached the milestone in 2016-17.
DEFENSIVE GOALS
Elon aims to keep its opponents under 40 percent from the field in any given game. Only once during non-conference play did a team shoot above 39 percent (Iowa, 44.9). In CAA play, all four of Elon's opponents thus far have shot at least 39.3 percent from the field with UNCW at 39.3, Delaware at 50.9, Northeastern at 39.7 and James Madison 42.9.
CAA WEEKLY AWARDS
Following a strong opening night, Ra'Shika White was named the first CAA Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 13. The sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., poured in 29 points on 12-of-17 from the floor while pulling down eight rebounds. The award followed two Rookie of the Week awards earned during her freshman campaign in 2016-17.
Saadia Munford earned Elon's first CAA Rookie of the Week honor of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 26, after scoring six points to go with a career-best 10 assists in a 28-point win over NC Central on Tuesday, Dec. 19. The Atlanta native scored or assisted on 28 points in the victory.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
In 2017-18, Elon has the sixth-youngest roster in the nation with 75 percent of its players freshmen or sophomores. The roster rounds out with just three seniors and zero juniors. On a national scale, UNCG checks in with a roster comprised of 87.5 percent freshmen and sophomores to rank as the youngest squad in the country. It is followed by Florida International (80 percent), San Jose State (80 percent), Utah State (76.9 percent) and Air Force (76.5 percent).
EYES ON THE TOP 25
Elon received votes in each of the first three USA TODAY Coaches polls, but dropped out after its first loss to now-No. 18/17 Iowa. In the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major poll, Elon is No. 9, falling from last week's No. 5 spot after the loss at Delaware. Last year, Elon earned a program-high four votes in the USA TODAY poll entering the postseason and earned two after the year. Elon also finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 3 in the mid-major rankings behind Quinnipiac and Drake.
PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS
Shay Burnett was tabbed the 2017-18 CAA Preseason Player of the Year by the league's head coaches on Oct. 19. She was also picked as a First Team All-CAA honoree and was joined by
Malaya Johnson earning Second Team All-CAA laurels. The defending champion Phoenix was selected second in the CAA this season, picking up 74 points in the poll and three first-place votes. James Madison was picked to take the crown with six first-place votes and 78 points. Drexel received the 10th and final first-place vote, but was picked to finish fourth behind William & Mary.
HOME SWEET ALUMNI GYM
Since
Charlotte Smith took over the program in 2011-12, Elon has posted a 69-20 record in Alumni Gym and 6-0 this season. Last year, the Phoenix went 11-2 at home. It has not lost more than five games in Alumni Gym in a season under Smith and has won at least 10 in all six seasons to date she's led the program. Elon's only home losses last year came in a 76-70 defeat to James Madison on Jan. 20 and a Nov. 26 loss to ACC-foe Wake Forest, 78-68. Since the loss to JMU, the Phoenix has won 11 in a row in Alumni Gym.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S HOOPS AT HOME
This season, Elon men's and women's basketball are a combined 12-1 in Alumni Gym. The women's team (6-0) has defeated Winthrop, Hampton, Coker, NC Central, UNCW and Northeastern. The men's program (6-1) has topped William Peace, Radford, South Florida, Saint Peter's, Drexel and Towson. Before Elon's men lost Jan. 11 to UNCW in overtime, it was one of six schools in the country with unbeaten men's and women's teams at home. Others on that list included Duke, Arizona State, Mississippi State, Stephen F. Austin and Morgan State.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will return home for a pair of home games inside Alumni Gym against Towson and Delaware. First, Elon will host Towson on Friday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. before welcoming Delaware on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 21, for a 1 p.m. contest.
--ELON--
