ELON, N.C. – Following two seasons at East Carolina University, junior forward Iycez Adams brought her talents to the Phoenix. Over the season, she has left her mark, leading the team in various categories on multiple occasions. In Elon's matchup against the Hofstra Pride on Thursday, she had a career-night with 20 points.

"They found me when I was open and I was able to convert," Adams said. "All the work we put in the gym, practice, and my teammates trusted me."

Adams found the hoop a career-high nine times to go along with two free throws to reach her total. She achieved the feat while only missing one shot the entire night in less than 20 minutes on the court.

These two squads last saw each other earlier this season on Jan. 21 in Long Island. In the meeting, Adams ultimately hit the game-winning free throw to ice the game for Elon in a 55-54 win. However, the Pride had a furious comeback attempt in the fourth quarter of that game, led by sophomore Emma Von Essen, who finished with 23 points with 13 coming in the final 10 minutes.

Everyone on the Elon sideline knew who they would have to lock her up, and the game plan worked to perfection. With a "defense by committee" mindset, the Phoenix held Von Essen scoreless in the second half, and only five points total.

"We had awareness of where she was, trying to make it difficult for her to catch it, hopefully wearing her down," head coach Charlotte Smith said. "Eleven threes. That's a lot of shots that she got off and she was off today, thankfully."

Defense has been the heart and soul of the Phoenix all season long, ranking in the top half in most defensive statistics across the conference. Freshman Maraja Pass paced Elon with three steals and an added block.

"We put an extreme emphasis on it in practice, flying at her and making sure we locate the shooter," Adams said.

The Phoenix will play at Schar Center for the final time this season on March 9, tipping off against the Drexel Dragons at 12 p.m. Elon will recognize its senior class of Jessica Booth, Ajia James, Maya Johnson and Vanessa Taylor.

"We build momentum and that creates confidence and that's what we want to go into the tournament with a lot of confidence," Smith said. "Things are starting to fall into place for us."
 

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'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.

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