Down by three with 3:54 remaining, the Elon University women’s basketball team couldn't close out North Carolina A&T State University Dec. 31, falling on the road to the Aggies 75-65.

After the Phoenix took a one-point lead to the break at 37-36, N.C. A&T’s junior guard Amber Calvin knocked down two free throws with 18:57 remaining in the game, giving the Aggies back the lead they held most of the first half. Though a tight contest, N.C. A&T would not relinquish the lead the remainder of the afternoon.

Each time the Aggies jumped out to a two or three possession lead, Elon would climb back into the contest, but was never able to regain the lead.

After the under four media timeout, N.C. A&T pulled away with a 10-3 run, improving their record to 7-5, dropping the Phoenix to 4-7.

Calvin led all scorers with 16 points in 36 minutes. Junior guard DeAndra Davis scored 13 points off the bench for the Aggies and senior forward Nikia Gorham finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Senior guard Ali Ford led Elon with 13 points. She was limited to 30 minutes after picking up four fouls early in the second half. Senior forward Kelsey Evans and junior guard Kelsey Harris each scored 11 points while sophomore forward Sam Coffer came one point short of a double-double. She pulled down 10 rebounds and tallied 9 points.

As 2013 arrives, Elon will return home looking to rebound from an 0-3 road trip as they return to conference play against Samford University on Saturday, Jan. 5. The Phoenix are 1-1 in conference after two games in early-December against the College of Charleston and Western Carolina. Elon fell to the Cougars 57-55, but topped the Catamounts two days later 64-48.

Picked to finish just one spot ahead of Elon in the Southern Conference at fourth place, Samford comes in with an overall record of 5-6, but undefeated in SoCon play at 2-0. The Bulldogs topped Wofford College and Furman University on Dec. 1 and Dec. 3, respectively. Most recently, Samford was trounced on the road 80-51 by SEC-opponent Auburn University.

Tip between Elon and Samford is set for 2:30 p.m. inside Alumni Gym.