Freshman Phenom: Maraja Pass Proves Potential In All-CAA Rookie Campaign

ELON, N.C. — Shelby, North Carolina, is rich with Elon women's basketball roots.

It serves as the hometown of the current winningest head coach in Elon women's basketball program history Charlotte Smith. Maraja Pass, a fellow Shelby native, elected to play for Smith and the Phoenix, and has made her hometown proud in her freshman year.

Smith ended her collegiate career watching her three pointer fall through the net to win the National Championship in 1994, and while such heights would be difficult for her hometown freshman phenom to reach, nothing is impossible.

"I just think it means a lot when the coaches are confident in me," Pass said. "[Coach Smith] lets me play free and I really appreciate that."

Pass has seen extended opportunity in 2024 due to the Elon starting backcourt, Raven Preston and Kamryn Doty, both missing the season with injuries. The injuries left the backcourt open for Pass to gain important in-game experience in her transition from high school to college.

"I think it's an adjustment on all cylinders," Pass said. "The games are tougher, the game is a lot faster than high school. And you're taking in more information every single day. It's an adjustment to be coachable, it's an adjustment to play faster, play harder and just play together."

Pass not only seamlessly made the transition, but shattered expectations, proving to the Phoenix squad and Smith that they struck gold.

Starting in 17 of 21 games played this year, Pass instantly became vital for Elon, showing her heart and determination. At 5-foot-4, Pass pulled down the second most total rebounds on the team. Not to mention she led the team in free throws, assists, steals and minutes. She was also second in total points, rebounds and field goals made.

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Pass began the season on the bench behind sophomore Regina Walton, but took advantage of her time on the court. After playing 21 minutes in her collegiate debut against East Carolina, Pass hit the 30 minute mark in her second game against Gardner-Webb while also scoring 16 points on 6-7 from the field with two assists and three rebounds.

Pass wouldn't hit double-digit scoring again until Dec. 2 against Wingate – her first time featured in the starting lineup. Unbeknownst to Pass at the time, the Wingate game would start a streak of six straight in double-digit scoring, including two nights scoring 20 points or more. In those six games lasting through the month of December, Pass averaged 14.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

The last game of that streak, which marked the final game of the team's non-conference schedule and 2023 calendar year, was at the Qubein Arena, as Elon took on the High Point Panthers. Pass orchestrated 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds, a near triple-double and confidence builder for the true freshman.

"In High Point, I just played free and confident," Pass said. "I think that was my career high and that was the last game of 2023. I think that's where I started to pick up a lot of confidence."

Her stellar performance in High Point earned Pass her third CAA Rookie of the Week honor, giving the freshman all the momentum heading into conference play.

In CAA play, Pass started in 14 of 17 games, leading the team and all conference freshmen in assists per game. She led the team in scoring nine times and four times in rebounds, cleaning up the glass profusely at the point guard position.

By regular season's end, Pass accumulated 108 assists, the most by an Elon freshman since the 2004-05 season. She also ranked in the top three for single season assists by a freshman in the program's Division I era.

On March 12, Pass was named to the All-CAA Rookie Team, a testament to the impact she has had so far in her young career. The success, while unexpected by her, was something Pass worked hard to accomplish.

"I just have high expectations for myself," Pass said. "I just want to make whoever is playing around me better. That's my goal."

'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

--ELON--

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Players Mentioned

#10 Kamryn Doty: G; 5' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

#5 Raven Preston: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#1 Regina Walton: G; 5' 3"; Sophomore

#4 Maraja Pass: G; 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Kamryn Doty
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#5 Raven Preston
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Regina Walton
: 5' 3"; Sophomore
: G

#4 Maraja Pass
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: G