ELON, N.C.- The Elon University women's basketball team kept James Madison on its toes until the final possession of the matchup on Thursday, March 5. However, the Phoenix fell in the end, 61-58.
 
"I'm really proud of the effort from this team tonight," said head coach Charlotte Smith. "I told them we could walk away from this game feeling very good about our effort."

THE RUNDOWN
The Phoenix started out hot, outscoring the Dukes 5-0 in the opening minutes of play. Its momentum stayed with it for the remainder of the half as Elon took a lead as high as nine before going into the locker room. James Madison closed the half with an 8-0 run to make the score 26-24.
 
Brie Perpignan kickstarted a 7-1 run in the third to bring the Elon lead back up to eight when she knocked down a shot from deep (3:37). Jaylin Powell added a jumper, while Saadia Munford chipped in a pair of free throws to give Elon a 42-34 advantage. Two field goals by the Dukes cut the Phoenix lead to four (42-38) going into the fourth.
 
James Madison took over the lead with 4:42 left in regulation (50-49), eventually growing its lead to five with 2:25 on the clock (54-49). Powell, Ariel Colón, and Munford fueled a 7-3 run to bring Elon back within one (57-56), but four JMU free throws sealed the deal for the Dukes.   
 
HIGHLIGHTS
-Three Elon players scored in the double figures. Munford paced the Phoenix with 16 points, shooting 5-of-11 from the field in addition to making all of her free throws (4) and tying Perpignan for the team high in assists (3). Powell also made five field goals en route to her 14 points on the night, while Perpignan followed with 10. All three players made two shots from deep.  
-Jada Graves led the Elon defense with two steals. She has now recorded at least one pair of steals in 19 games this season.
-Kamiah Smalls finished the game with 24 points for the Dukes. 12 of them came in the fourth quarter.
 
NOTES
-The Phoenix's bench outscored James Madison's 19-4.
-Elon maintained its lead for 33:11, while the Dukes led for 4:42.

UP NEXT
Elon hosts Towson in its regular-season finale on Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m.