ELON, N.C. — The Elon women's basketball team continues its season-opening ACC road swing Thursday when it visits No. 10 NC State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Kay Yow Court inside Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum.
 
COVERAGE

• Thursday's game will air on ACC Network Extra.
• Fans can also listen to the contest on WSOE 89.3 FM.
• Live stats can be found here.
• Other in-game updates will be provided via the program's Twitter account, @ElonWBasketball.

TICKETS ON SALE

• The best way to see the women's basketball team this season is by purchasing season tickets for just $40.
• Single-game tickets are also available, beginning at $10.
• For the first time ever, fans can purchase a book of 10 ticket vouchers for $75. These vouchers are redeemable for a ticket to any Elon men's or women's basketball regular-season home game. Use all 10 for any one game or use one voucher for 10 different games.
• Fans who purchase voucher books will also receive an Elon mini autographed basketball from head coaches Charlotte Smith and Billy Taylor. These tickets represent a 50% savings for men's basketball tickets and a 25% savings for women's basketball versus single-game prices.
• Ticket vouchers must be redeemed for a reserved seat ticket prior to entry. This can be done at the Schar Center Box Office during regular business hours (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) or starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.

 
SERIES HISTORY VS. NC STATE

• Elon trails the all-time series with NC State 13-1.
• The Wolfpack and Phoenix first met on Feb. 28, 1972, at Alumni Gym. The contest – a 43-37 NC State win – is the only one that's been held between the two teams at Elon.
• This marks the fourth consecutive season that the two programs have met on the hardwood. Last year, the Phoenix fell to the second-ranked Wolfpack 78-46 in Raleigh. Kayla Liles scored a team-high 12 points for Elon, which shot 27.8% (15-for-54) from the field.
• The Phoenix's lone victory in the series came on Dec. 13, 2015, at Broughton High School. Lauren Brown led four double-digit scorers with 18 points and Elon shot a blistering 60% (9-for-15) on 3-pointers to pull off the 69-66 victory. Essence Baucom, who's in her second season as an assistant coach with her alma mater, also added three points, three rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.

 
PART OF THE PACK

• Elon shares several connections to NC State, with none being more prominent than the one with the Yow family.
• Kay Yow began her legendary coaching career at Elon in 1971 and played a major role in launching the school's women's athletics program. In addition to coaching the women's basketball team to 57 wins and two state titles over four seasons, she coached the volleyball team to 72 victories over three seasons before accepting the head women's basketball job at NC State in 1975. The Naismith Hall of Famer won more than 700 games with the Wolfpack, but for many fans, she was best defined by her unwavering resolve while fighting cancer.
• Debbie Yow played for Elon from 1971-74, serving as co-captain under Kay. She later followed her older sister's footsteps and entered the collegiate coaching ranks, tallying 160 victories at Kentucky, Oral Roberts and Florida. After eight seasons, she embarked on a successful career in athletics administration that included stints as the athletics director at Maryland and NC State. A longtime member of the Elon University Board of Trustees, she was awarded the Elon Medallion, the university's highest honor, in October 2021.
• One of the most prolific athletes in Elon history, Susan Yow lettered in women's basketball (1972-75) and volleyball (1972-74) as a member of each inaugural team before transferring to NC State for her final season. She was a two-time all-state selection and a Kodak All-American at Elon and still ranks second in single-season free-throw percentage (.851 in 1972-73), fourth in single-season field goal percentage (.581 in 1973-74) and fifth in career rebounds per game (8.5). Like her sisters, Susan later embarked on an accomplished head-coaching career that included stops at Queens University, Belmont Abbey College, Providence College, UNCW, Kansas State, Drake and East Tennessee State.
• Charlotte Smith's uncle, David Thompson, led the NC State men's basketball team to its first national championship and earned NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors in 1974. Her cousin, Dereck Whittenburg, later helped the Wolfpack to the 1983 NCAA championship and currently serves as the associate athletics director for community relations and student support at NC State.
• Elon assistant coach Edgar Farmer Jr.'s father served as the director of graduate programs and as an associate professor in the Department of Adult and Community College Education at NC State for seven years. Farmer Jr. also sold game programs at Reynolds Coliseum and Carter-Finley Stadium growing up.
• Elon assistant coach Essence Baucom spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at NC State, helping the Wolfpack to a 28-4 record and the program's first ACC Tournament title since 1991 during the 2019-20 season. She worked with NC State's guards as well as on opponent scouting and practice preparation.
• Kaila Ealey – who is in her first season as Elon's director of operations – enjoyed a five-year playing career at NC State, where she made 36 starts at point guard. For her career, she netted 435 points, 326 rebounds, 241 assists and 104 steals while appearing in 94 games. Her best season came in 2017-18, when she started all 35 games while averaging a career-high 8.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Elon opened its 2022-23 season on Monday with a 76-56 loss to Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
• Preseason All-CAA second-team pick Evonna McGill led the Phoenix with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and hauled in six rebounds. It marked the third straight game, dating back to last season, and the 15th time in her Elon career that she led the team in scoring.
• The Phoenix also saw nine players make their Elon debuts, led by Raven Preston (nine points and six rebounds), Regina Walton (seven points) and Chloe Williams (seven points and six rebounds).
• Preston became the first true freshman to start a season opener for the Phoenix since Maya Johnson on Nov. 9, 2019, against Western Carolina.
• Preston and redshirt freshman Kamryn Doty became the first pair of freshmen to start a season opener for Elon since Saadia Munford and Anna Popovic on Nov. 10, 2017, against Winthrop.

 
ELON VS. RANKED FOES

• The Phoenix is 0-15 against ranked teams since becoming a full-time Division I member ahead of the 1999-2000 season.
• Elon's smallest margin of defeat against a ranked team is a five-point loss (68-63) at No. 21 Duke on Dec. 8, 2016.
• Thursday's game will mark the fourth time the Phoenix has faced a ranked NC State squad. Elon fell to the 21st-ranked Wolfpack 62-35 in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. It then lost 62-49 to ninth-ranked NC State on Dec. 15, 2019, and 78-46 to the second-ranked Wolfpack on Dec. 5, 2021.

 
PRESEASON ACCOLADES

• The Phoenix was picked to finish fourth in the CAA Preseason Poll, marking the sixth time in its nine CAA seasons that Elon has ranked fourth or better in the league's preseason balloting.
• Evonna McGill was named to the preseason All-CAA second team, becoming the first Phoenix post player to earn preseason All-CAA honors since Malaya Johnson made the second team in 2017-18.
• McGill, a center from Lowell, N.C., averaged 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks last season. All three of those figures rank in the top six among CAA returners.
• Her 58.9 field-goal percentage was the third best in program history and is also the seventh highest among returning Division I players who made at least five shots per game and played in 75% of their team's games last season.

 
FRESH FACES

• Elon boasts seven newcomers, including six freshmen in Hannah Dereje, Raven Preston, Aly Wadkovsky, Regina Walton, Ruby Willard and Chloe Williams.
• The six-player freshman class matches the Phoenix's largest under Charlotte Smith; Elon's 2017 recruiting class also consisted of six players.
• Graduate transfer Lenaejha Evans also joins the Phoenix after two seasons at Rider. The guard – who averaged 14.0 points en route to third-team All-MAAC honors in 2021-22 – began her career at Kansas City Kansas Community College in 2018-19, then transferred to Pensacola State College for one season before enrolling at Rider.
• Although they aren't new to Elon, redshirt freshmen guards Kamryn Doty and Diamond Monroe also made their Phoenix debuts Monday after missing the entire 2021-22 season due to injury. Doty started at point guard.

 
BIG SHOES TO FILL

• Elon entered the 2022-23 season looking to fill the void left by Brie Perpignan, who finished her Phoenix career as one of only five players to record 1,100 points and 350 assists, along with Shay Burnett (2014-18), Ali Ford (2009-13), Lisa Briggs (1983-87) and Donna Trollinger (1981-85).
• Perpignan's 359 career assists are the eighth most in Elon history, and her 1,194 points are tied for the 14th most. She also ranks second in career free-throw percentage (min. 250 made) at 80 (335-for-419).
• The point guard was sensational in 2021-22, ranking second in the CAA in assists per game (5.5), third in free-throw percentage (81.1) fifth in points per game (16.6) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
• For her efforts, she was named to the All-CAA second team, becoming just the fourth Phoenix player to make the first or second team and the first since 2017-18.
• Perpignan accounted for 26.6% of Elon's scoring, 36.6% of its free-throw attempts, 39.9% of its free throws and 43.6% of its assists last season.

2021-22 REWIND

• The Phoenix went 17-12 last season to post its seventh winning season under Charlotte Smith and its first since 2017-18.
• Elon went 9-9 in CAA play to finish tied for fifth in the league. That marked the Phoenix's best finish since placing third in 2017-18.
• Ten of Elon's victories came at Schar Center, its most since moving into the state-of-the-art facility before the 2018-19 season.
• The 2021-22 Phoenix ranked in the top 10 in school history in free-throw percentage (74.2, first), 3-point attempts (563, second), 3-pointers (171, fourth), field-goal percentage (39.9, ninth) and assists per game (12.6, 10th).
• Brie Perpignan led Elon in scoring (16.6 points per game) and assists (5.5 per game), while Kayla Liles paced the team in rebounding (6.2 per game).

BONDING ABROAD

• As part of Elon's commitment to diversity and global engagement, the women's basketball team spent eight days in Italy in August.
• In addition to experiencing authentic Italian cuisine and seeing historical sites such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Colosseum, the Phoenix scrimmaged a pair of local teams.
• For a team that features seven newcomers, the trip proved incredibly valuable. Said head coach Charlotte Smith: "It came at the perfect time. Because we have so many new faces, it allowed us an opportunity to implement some things in our system and to practice and to play some games internationally before they even played a game in the United States."

EDUCATION DAY RETURNS

• For the first time in more than a decade, the Phoenix will welcome local elementary school students to campus this season for a fun-filled Education Day matinee.
• Elon Athletics has partnered with the Alamance-Burlington School System to bring back the annual Education Day to Elon's campus when the Phoenix faces Richmond on Thursday, Dec. 15.
• The game, set for 11 a.m., will mark the first time that Elon has held an Education Day since Jan. 27, 2011. It will also be the first Education Day at the state-of-the-art Schar Center, which is expected to welcome approximately 2,500 elementary school students for the event.
• While the game between the Phoenix and Spiders will be at the center of the festivities, the day will also serve as an opportunity for students to be introduced to the University and learn more about the importance of education and going to college. Different components of the in-game entertainment will address that, but students will also be treated to other fun activities, such as a spirit contest.

MAKING MOVES

• Ahead of their 12th season together at Elon, Charlotte Smith announced the promotion of Josh Wick to associate head coach in September.
• Since arriving with Smith as a member of her coaching staff in 2011, Wick has been integral to the women's basketball program's turnaround. In his 11 seasons at Elon, the Phoenix has posted a winning record seven times, including back-to-back 25-win campaigns in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
• In 2016-17, Wick helped the Phoenix to a record-breaking season that saw it win the CAA regular-season and Tournament titles while reaching the first NCAA Tournament in program history. The Phoenix reached the NCAA Tournament the following season, as well, after winning its second straight CAA Championship.

 
SCOUTING NC STATE

• NC State is coming off an 82-45 win over Quinnipiac on Monday in its season opener. Jada Boyd led three double-digit scorers with 14 points, and the Wolfpack shot 46.8% (29-for-62) from the field.
• NC State began the season ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25, marking the third year in a row that it has opened the season in the top 10.
• The Wolfpack went 32-4 overall and 17-1 in ACC play last season, claiming its third consecutive ACC Tournament title and reaching the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the first time since 1998.
• NC State was picked to finish third this season by the ACC's Blue Ribbon Panel comprised of the league's 15 head coaches and a select voting panel.
• Diamond Johnson and Jakia Brown-Turner both represented the Wolfpack on the Blue Ribbon Panel Preseason All-ACC Team, while South Carolina transfer Saniya Rivers made the Blue Ribbon Panel Newcomer Watch List.

 
UP NEXT 

• Elon will host High Point in its home opener on Sunday at Schar Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.