Elon Phoenix (12-6, 4-3 CAA) at Drexel (14-5, 6-1 CAA)

Date | Time	Friday, Jan. 26 | 7 p.m.
Location	Daskalakis Athletic Center (Philadelphia)
Series Record	Drexel leads 4-2
Last Meeting	Jan. 15, 2017 | Elon, 75-65
Tickets	Elon at Drexel
Live Stats	Click Here
Watch	CAA.tv
Radio	WSOE 89.3 FM | Phoenix All-Access
Game Notes	Elon | Drexel
Twitter	@ElonWBasketball | @ElonPhoenix | @ElonScores

 

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ELON, N.C. – Riding a two-game winning streak, Elon will visit Drexel on Friday night, Jan. 26, looking to pickup its first CAA road win of the season at 7 p.m. inside the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Friday's action will air on CAA.tv and can also be heard on WSOE 89.3 FM with Drew Gentry and Andrew Vendelis calling the action from Philadelphia. 

THE SERIES
Drexel won each of the first four meetings in the series between the Phoenix and Dragons, but Elon claimed both games in 2017 by winning 48-45 in Philadelphia and 75-65 in Alumni Gym in January.

ABOUT DREXEL
The Dragons have the best winning percentage in the CAA this year at .857 overall. Standing at 14-5, the Drexel is a perfect 7-0 at home on the season and has won four in a row overall since suffering its lone CAA loss to 7-0 James Madison. Bailey Greenberg's 11.5 points per game leads Drexel. Kelsi Lidge is averaging 10.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in 34.1 minutes per contest. Drexel was selected fourth in the CAA this season behind James Madison, Elon and William & Mary. Denise Dillon is the longest tenured coach in CAA women's basketball, as she's now in her 15th season with the Dragons.

LAST TIME OUT
Malaya Johnson posted her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday afternoon's 64-51 win over Delaware to become the 24th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point club. Shay Burnett also matched Johnson with 16 points and Ra'Shika White notched her 10th-straight double-figure game with 10 points. Elon shot 29.8 percent, marking its lowest shooting percentage in a win since Nov. 29, 2015, when it shot 28.8 percent in a 50-38 win over East Tennessee State.

RELYING ON VETERAN LEADERSHIP
Elon will look to the leadership of Shay Burnett and Malaya Johnson on Friday night against Drexel. Burnett and Johnson are two of just four players on the 2017-18 roster to have played against Drexel to date. Jada Graves is the only other player to have seen significant minutes against the Dragons on just two occasions and Meme Garner has played just one minute against Drexel. Both Ra'Shika White and Lexi Mercer did not play against Drexel a season ago as freshmen. 

#MALAYA1K
Malaya Johnson became the 24th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point club on Sunday, Jan. 21, when she scored 16 points and had 13 rebounds against Delaware. The senior is 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.

TOPS IN THE COUNTRY
With 5.9 assists per game, Shay Burnett ranks 26th in the nation. Her 100 total assists are the 48th-most in the country. As a team, Elon's +8.8 rebounding margin is 18th-best in the country. Its 43.9 boards per contest is 16th-best and its 19.7 turnovers forced per outing ranks 38th. Elon has reached the free throw line 447 times this season, which ranks it the ninth-most frequent visitor to the charity stripe in the country. It's .698 percentage, though, checks in at No. 163 of 345 teams nationally. 

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, five of Elon's seven 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, James Madison at 42.9 and William & Mary at 48.4. But each of its last two have been under 40.

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. Malaya Johnson earned Elon's second CAA Player of the Week award on Jan. 22 when she scored 16 points against Towson and Delaware and had a double-double with 13 points against the Blue Hens while surpassing the 1,000-career point mark in the process. 

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. She then collected another Rookie of the Week award Jan. 22 after a strong overall weekend in two wins over Towson and Delaware.

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). 

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 71-20 record in Alumni Gym and 8-0 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 13 in a row in Alumni Gym.

UP NEXT
Elon will return to the road next weekend when it travels to Drexel and Towson. The Phoenix will meet Drexel on Friday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. and Towson on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m.