Towson, Md. - The No. 11 seed Elon Phoenix (9-20, 5-13 CAA) looks to advance to the quarterfinal of the CAA Women's Basketball Championship as the team plays No. 6 seed Stony Brook (17-12, 11-7 CAA) in the first round of the CAA Tournament. The Phoenix will square off in the last of four Thursday games to be played at Towson's SECU Arena at 7:30 p.m. The two teams met once earlier this season, in which Stony Brook defeated the Phoenix inside Schar Center 70-56.
 
COVERAGE

• The first four rounds of the tournament will air on FloSports while the final will air on CBS Sports Network.
• Fans can also listen to every Elon game during the CAA Women's Basketball Championship on WSOE 89.3
• Live stats for all games can be found by CLICKING HERE.  
• Other in-game updates with be provided via the program's Twitter account, @elonwbasketball

 
LAST TIME OUT 

• Elon fell to the Towson Tigers in the Phoenix's last regular season game 70-63.
• Graduate Lenaejha Evans had her best scoring effort as a member of the Phoenix, dropping a season-high 24 points.
• Guard Kamryn Doty joined Evans in double figures with 12 points, which was one off her season and career-high.
• Doty got the game going from the field, knocking down her first shot of the day on a long two-point field goal following a Towson turnover.
• Evonna McGill would knock down a turnaround jumper for her first basket to give Elon its largest lead early with a 4-0 advantage.
• Towson would answer back with a 7-0 run to take the lead on an Alexia Nelson triple.
• The Tiger's top scorer Patricia Anumgba would cap off her first quarter by knocking down two straight triples on two possessions to give Towson a four-point lead after one quarter of play.
• Evans and McGill began to trade buckets in the paint to begin the second quarter, but Towson's three-point shooting began to give the Tigers a growing lead.
• Another three by Patricia Anumgba followed up by an Anissa Rivera triple, would give Towson a nine-point lead.
• The Tiger lead would grow to as many as 17 before a Chloe Williams steal and fast break layup would stop the bleeding. Towson would go into the half up 42-24.
• The two teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half until a fast break jumper by Skye Williams gave the Tigers a 21-point lead, their largest of the afternoon.
• Following the Williams jumper, the Phoenix would trim the lead to twelve going into the fourth quarter following a deep three-point jumper by freshman Chloe Williams as the buzzer sounded.
• The fourth quarter belonged to the Phoenix following the Williams triple. Ajia James knocked down a three-point shot of her own which trimmed the Tiger lead to nine.
• The Phoenix and Tigers would trade buckets until a Kamryn Doty jump shot cut the lead to seven.
• However, the Phoenix would never get any closer than seven, which turned out to be the final deficit, as Elon would fall to Towson, 70-63.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Elon trails in the all-time series to Stony Brook 1-0.
• This will be the second matchup all-time between Elon and Stony Brook and the first in the CAA Tournament.
• The lone matchup came earlier this season when the Sea Wolves took the only regular season matchup, 70-56.

 
THAT'S SO RAVEN

• Freshman wing Raven Preston wrapped up her fabulous freshman year campaign by being awarded the CAA Rookie of the Year earlier this week.
• Preston became the fourth member of the Phoenix in the Division I era to be awarded the conference rookie of the year and becomes the first Phoenix in the CAA era to achieve the award.
• Preston was the lone award winner for the Phoenix, taking home the Rookie of the Year award and being named to the All-Rookie Team.
• The Greensboro native was the first member of the Phoenix to be named to the All-Rookie team since Saadia Munford achieved the same honor in 2017-18.
• Preston finished the season with six CAA Rookie of the Week awards, at least two more than any other first-year in the conference.·
• Preston flirted with a double-double, as she scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Phoenix loss to William & Mary last week.
• Preston put together her most com­plete performance of her freshman campaign against William & Mary last month. The rookie from Greensboro, N.C., finished the contest just two assists shy of a triple double. The final stats read 13 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and 1 steal.
• Preston was awarded her fifth CAA Rookie of the Week honor, following victories over North Carolina A&T and College of Charleston.  
• With her fifth award, Preston surpasses Elon great Shay Burnett for the most CAA Rookie of the Week accolades in a single season.
• In a season full of highlights, Raven Preston de­livered the signature moment of her young Elon career when she banked in a buzzer-beat­ing, game-winning 3-pointer in the Phoenix's 63-60 victory at Delaware.
• The miraculous shot – which came in at No. 9 on SportsCenter's Top 10 – secured Elon its first CAA victory this season. It also earned the Greensboro, N.C., native her league-best fourth CAA Rookie of the Week award, tying her with Shay Burnett for the most by a Phoenix freshman since Elon joined the conference in 2014-15.
• Preston's 3-pointer handed the Phoenix its first walk-off win since Burnett made a buzzer-beating layup in a double-overtime victory at Delaware on Feb. 7, 2016. It also gave Preston a game-high 17 points, and she followed that up with nine points, six rebounds and three assists against Drexel.
• With 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds against Northeastern on Jan. 15, Preston posted her fourth double-double, setting a new fresh­man record under Charlotte Smith. Burnett (2014-18) – who held the previous record of three – was in attendance as the Phoenix cel­ebrated its alumni weekend.
• Preston's 31 points against Davidson on Dec. 18, 2022, marked the most by a Phoenix fresh­man since at least 2004-05.
• Having also scored 22 points against Old Do­minion and 26 at NC Central, she's the only fresh­man to post three 20-point games under Smith.
• Preston's three 20-point games account for three of the top four scoring performances by a freshman in Smith's 12-season tenure.
• With 12 points and 13 rebounds against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30, 2022, Preston joined Kayla Liles as the only Phoenix players to record a double-double in a CAA opener, and her 12 points were the second most by an Elon fresh­man in their CAA debut.
• Preston's 15 rebounds against Old Dominion tied for the third most by a Phoenix player and were the most by a freshman under Smith. They were also the most by a CAA freshman since UNCW's Taylor Webster had 19 against Norfolk State on Nov. 25, 2020.
• With her 22 points and 15 rebounds against the Monarchs, Preston became the fifth player and the second freshman to post a 20-point, 10-rebound game under Smith. The 20-point, 10-rebound game was the first by a CAA fresh­man since Towson's Allie Kubek had 20 points and 14 rebounds against Drexel on Feb. 21, 2021.

 
CRASHING THE GLASS

• Elon has been phenomenal crashing the boards in the back half of their conference schedule.
• In five out of their last six games, the Phoenix have had double-digit offensive rebounds, grabbing 15 or more offensive boards twice in that span.
• Evonna McGill set a new career high against the College of Charleston for rebounds in a game when she gathered up 12 rebounds against the College of Charleston.
• Freshman Raven Preston led the conference in rebounding with just under nine rebounds per game in CAA play and finished third in the conference in rebounding with just over eight per contest game.
• The last player to average more than eight rebounds per game for the Phoenix was Kelsey Evans during the 2012-13 season.
• Five different players have had a double figure rebounding game during their Phoenix career, along with Preston and McGill, Ajia James, Vanessa Taylor, and Maya Johnson have all had 10 or more rebounds in a game. Ajia James leads the career tally with double figure rebounding games with 12 during her career.

 
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 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 joined 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 are also new to the mix after missing the entire 2021-22 season due to injury.

 
 
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 welcomed local elementary school students to campus for a fun-filled Education Day on Dec. 15.
• The game against Richmond marked the first time that Elon held an Education Day since Jan. 27, 2011.
• The program welcomed more than 2,400 elementary school students from 10 Alamance-Burlington School System schools as well as Burlington Christian Academy and The Burlington School. Overall, 3,087 fans attended the game, marking the largest crowd in Elon's Division I era.
• Although the game between the Phoenix and Spiders was at the center of the festivities, the day also served 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 addressed that.
• Phoenix players also spent much of December visiting ABSS schools and talking about their experiences as collegiate student-athletes.

 
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 STONY BROOK

• The Sea Wolves finished sixth in the CAA but have had a tough stretch to end the season. Stony Brook lost the last three contests to go from 11-4 to their 11-7 finish in the conference.
• Three members of Stony Brook were tabbed to All-CAA teams, with graduate guard Annie Warren claiming a spot on the first team.
• Sophomore Sherese Pittman was selected to the second team, and Gigi Gonzalez was announced as a member of the third team.
• Warren finished the regular season fourth in the CAA in scoring with 16.7 points per game and tied for 11^th in the nation with 90 three-point field goals made.
• The graduate also eclipsed the 1000-point mark earlier this season.
• Gigi Gonzalez finished the season averaging 4.3 assists per game, good for second in the conference.
• During their first matchup of the season with the Phoenix, the three all-conference performers finished in double figures.
• Annie Warren would finish with 19 points and Gonzalez finished right behind her with 18.

UP NEXT

• Elon will look to continue its run in the CAA Tournament, with the winner of the 6/11 matchup taking on the No. 3 seed Northeastern Huskies. Tipoff for that contest will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Tickets for the CAA Women's Basketball Championship can be purchased at https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/buy#/