Box Score ELON, N.C. – Lenaejha Evans poured in a season-high 23 points and Raven Preston came close to notching a triple-double, but the Elon women's basketball team suffered a hard-fought 84-74 overtime loss to William & Mary on Friday.
 
Five days after setting her previous season high against the College of Charleston, Evans bested that mark while going 9-for-17 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3. Preston recorded 13 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high eight assists en route to her sixth double-double. Kamryn Doty also finished in double figures for the Phoenix (7-17, 3-10 CAA), scoring 12 points on four 3-pointers.
 
Riley Casey led William & Mary (13-10, 8-4 CAA) with 30 points, good for her fifth 30-point game on the season. The Tribe was without Sydney Wagner – who entered Friday ranked fifth in the CAA in scoring at 15.8 points per game – but Rebekah Frisby-Smith and Kayla Rolph each posted season highs with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
 
THE RUNDOWN
 

• The Phoenix came out hot, making four of its first six shots – including three 3-pointers – to seize a 13-6 lead midway through the first quarter. William & Mary battled back to secure a 20-18 lead a few minutes later, but Elon closed the period with a 5-0 run to take a 23-20 lead into the second.
• Elon scored five of the first seven points of the second quarter to stretch its lead to six at the 8:22 mark. However, the Tribe outscored the Phoenix 20-5 for the remainder of the first half, taking a 42-33 lead into the locker room.
• Coming out of the break, the Phoenix outscored the Tribe 14-5 over the first six minutes of the third quarter, tying the score at 47 on a baseline jumper by Bria Harmon. The two teams went back and forth over the next three-plus minutes, but Casey made a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the period to put the Tribe up 56-52 heading into the fourth.
• Both teams traded baskets over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, but a 4-0 Elon run cut the deficit to 60-59. The score stayed within three points over the next two-plus minutes until a Frisby-Smith and-1 gave William & Mary a 67-63 lead. At that point, the Phoenix locked in defensively, holding the Tribe to just two points over the final 3:46 of regulation and forcing overtime with an Evans free throw with six seconds left.
• After Casey opened overtime with a 3-pointer, Elon used a 5-0 run to go up 74-72. The Tribe, however, ended the game on a 12-0 run to earn its seventh win in its last eight games.

 
NOTES
 

• Evans' 23 points surpassed her previous season high of 20, set Sunday at the College of Charleston. They were her most since scoring 30 against Niagara on Jan. 15, 2022, with Rider.
• Evans' nine made field goals were a season high. Her three 3-pointers were the most in her NCAA Division I career, and her nine rebounds tied for her most at the DI level.
• Preston's double-double marked her sixth of the season, the most by a CAA freshman since Delaware's Nicole Enabosi had six in 2015-16.
• Preston posted her third game with 14 or more rebounds.
• Preston's eight assists were the most by an Elon freshman since Kayla Liles had eight against Hofstra on Jan. 6, 2019.
• Evans and Preston each tallied their 15th double-figure scoring game, the most on the team.
• Doty made a career-high four 3-pointers, besting her previous high of two, set on three occasions.
• The Phoenix's eight 3-pointers were its most since making 11 against William & Mary on March 3, 2022.
• Elon's 74 points marked its third most of the season and its most since scoring a season-high 77 against North Carolina Central on Nov. 27, 2022.
• The Tribe's 84 points and 32 made field goals were the second most allowed by the Phoenix this season.
• William & Mary's 12 3-pointers were the most by an Elon opponent this season.

 
UP NEXT
 

• The Phoenix will continue its homestand when it hosts Monmouth at 7 p.m. on Feb. 17 and the College of Charleston at 2 p.m. on Feb. 19. Elon will hold its Play4Kay game and Senior Day against the Cougars. For more information on the Play4Kay game, visit here.