NEWARK, Del. – Elon University women's basketball contained one of Delaware's biggest threats Friday afternoon, Jan. 5, but the Blue Hens shot 50.9 percent from the floor and 63.3 percent in the first half to take a 80-66 win over the Phoenix inside the Bob Carpenter Center.
 
With the loss, Elon falls to 9-4 on the season and 1-1 in the CAA. It also snapped Elon's 10-game winning streak against CAA competition dating back to Feb. 12, 2017. The win is Delaware's first in CAA play this season. It now stands at 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
 
THE RUNDOWN
Elon opened the afternoon with a smooth touch from three-point range, as it hit each of its first four triples. Meme Garner was responsible for three of them while Shay Burnett knocked down the fourth. In all, Elon hit five of its first six shots in the opening 4:25 before going cold with two buckets – a pair of Ra'Shika White layup – in its next nine shots. Delaware took advantage of the drought and hit 60 percent of its shots in the opening 10 minutes, which included hitting five of its last six shots in the frame to lead 21-20 after one.
 
In the second quarter, the two teams went bucket for bucket until the Blue Hens used an 11-2 run to take a 40-31 lead with 3:08 to go in the half. The two teams each tallied six points in the final three minutes of the half, but Delaware took a 46-37 lead to the break after shooting 66.7 percent from the floor in the second quarter, including 4-of-6 from long distance.
 
Both teams' offensive production slowed to start the third quarter, but Delaware pushed its lead to as many as 14 at 54-40 before the Phoenix answered with a 9-2 run with White scoring all nine points during the run. In all, White scored 10 of Elon's 12 points of the third quarter, but Delaware took an 11-point lead to the fourth quarter at 60-49.
 
To open the fourth, Garner found Burnett under the hoop for a layup that cut the Delaware lead to nine, but a 6-0 run to answer pushed Delaware's lead 15 at 66-51 with 8:11 to play. Malaya Johnson then scored six-straight points for the Phoenix, but a Bailey Kargo three-pointer sandwiched Johnson's six-point run to keep the Blue Hens up by double digits on the way to the 80-66 win.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
White's game-high 23 points led the way for the Phoenix. She also had eight rebounds. Garner chipped in 15 points and Burnett had her second-straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Burnett also had seven assists while Saadia Munford added five helpers.
 
Kargo finished with a career-high 21 points. She hit 7-of-10 shots from the floor, including 5-of-6 from long range. Nicole Enabosi was held to 16 points and eight rebounds, nearly four points and rebounds under her season averages. Abby Gonzales also added 16 points with a game-high eight assists and Samone DeFreese finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
 
NOTES
-Elon trailed at the half for just the third time this season. With the loss, it is now 0-3 when trailing at the break.
-The Phoenix had four players account for its 37 first-half points. Garner led the way with 15, followed by White's 13 and Burnett's eight. Anna Popovic had one point with a free throw.
-The loss snaps Elon's 10-game winning streak against CAA opponents. It's also the first loss to a CAA program other than James Madison since falling to the Blue Hens in the CAA Quarterfinals on March 10, 2016.
-Elon is now 0-2 in 12 p.m. start time this season. The other defeat was a 53-51 loss at Wake Forest on Dec. 2. The loss Friday marks Elon's first on a Friday in five games this season.
-Malaya Johnson finished with six points to push her career total to 946. She is now 54 away from becoming the 24th member of Elon's 1,000-career point club.
 
UP NEXT
Set to close its first full weekend of CAA play, the Phoenix returns home Sunday, Jan. 7, for a 2 p.m. matchup against Northeastern in Alumni Gym. Elon is 5-1 against Northeastern with all six matchups coming since the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014-15.