TOWSON, Md.-- Elon University women's basketball suffered its third loss of the season on Jan. 7 as it fell to Towson in its conference opener, 66-54.
 
THE RUNDOWN
The game started as a back-and-forth affair with a total of four lead changes in the first quarter. Elon took the biggest lead of the quarter (11-7) with 3:18 remaining, but the Tigers put together a 7-0 run to hold a three-point advantage (14-11) going into the second.

Towson opened the scoring in the second quarter with a field goal less than one minute in. However, the Phoenix responded with a 6-0 run to take a 17-16 lead. That lead was short lived as the Tigers regained the momentum with an 8-0 run of their own to take a 24-17 lead in the final two minutes of the half. Following a free throw from Ariana Nance and a three pointer from Ajia James, the Tigers made a driving layup to close the quarter and make the halftime score 21-26.
 
The maroon and gold came out strong in the second half. Nance found McGill under the basket for a quick bucket that sparked a 10-0 run, giving Elon a 31-26 lead for its largest advantage of the night. In the remaining time, the Tigers caught fire to double its score and grow its lead to 13 (39-52) going into the fourth.  

Elon was unable to curb the Towson momentum in the fourth quarter as the Tigers maintained its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game to get the win.
 
NOTES
-Evonna McGill paced the Phoenix offense with 14 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field.
-James totaled career highs in both points (13) and three pointers (3).  
-Brie Perpignan recorded a team-high seven assists in addition to chipping in 11 points.
-McGill, Maya Johnson and Kayla Liles all finished with five rebounds apiece.
-With the loss, the Phoenix now holds an 8-3 (0-1 CAA) record on the season.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix travels to James Madison to take on the Dukes on Sunday Jan. 9 at 1 p.m.