ELON, N.C. — The Elon women's basketball team beat visiting Mars Hill by a 59-37 score in Friday night's exhibition.  
 

It was a career-high night for Ruby Willard, as she paced the Phoenix offensively with 16 points while also tallying three rebounds and two steals. Regina Walton also finished her night in double figures with 10 points and three steals.  
 

"It's an exciting time here at Elon, we're excited to get the season jumping off," said Head Coach Charlotte Smith. "I'm really proud of the way that Ruby Willard played tonight. She's been playing like that in practice so that's translated into the game, and I'm really excited to see the momentum that she takes throughout the rest of the season. Overall, this is a great game because it gives us a lot to look at, study and understand how we can be better prepared for ECU who comes in here Monday." 

  

• The Phoenix took a quick 16-4 lead over the Lions with eight different Elon players adding to the score. The Lions responded with a three-pointer at the 27 second mark. Regina Walton closed the first quarter with her second field goal from behind the arch in the final seconds to put Elon up 19-7 heading into the second.  
• Both teams started slow offensively in the second, as neither team scored until a fast break jumper from Ruby Willard extended the Phoenix lead to 21-7 with 7:31 remaining in the second. Mars Hill responded going on a 12-7 run to get within single digits before halftime at 28-19. 
• Coming out of the half, Vanessa Taylor scored first for the Phoenix to establish an 11-point lead with 7:28 remaining in the quarter. Mars Hill cut the lead back to nine with a pair of free throws before Willard went on a 5-0 run for the Phoenix to go up 25-21 late in the third. The Lions scored two field goals from downtown to close out the third quarter still trailing the Phoenix 35-27 heading into the final 10 minutes.  
• Elon opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run in which Walton and Willard each added another three-pointer to the books to give Elon their biggest lead of the half at 43-27. This proved to be too large of a deficit for the Lions to overcome, as the Phoenix outscored them 16-10 in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter to secure the win.  

• All 12 available players for the Phoenix saw time on the court.  
• Elon had four players make their debut as transfers Iycez Adams and Jessica Booth, along with freshmen Ava Leroux and Maraja Pass all scored.   
• Two members of the team hit double figures in scoring with Ruby Willard leading the team with 16 points while Regina Walton added 10 going 3-5 from the arch. 
• On the boards, Maya Johnson and Adams paced Elon with seven each. Five Phoenix players finished with four or more rebounds.  
• After averaging 35.6 rebounds last season, Elon tallied 44 in the win.  
• The Phoenix went 6-12 (50%) from the free-throw line.  

UP NEXT 
Elon will officially open its 2023-24 campaign at home in Schar Center against East Carolina on Monday, Nov. 6. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on FloHoops.