Sophomore guard Lauren Brown was efficient from all areas of the court as the Elon Uniersity women’s basketball team took home a 72-59 victory over the the College of William & Mary Tribe on Friday, Jan. 9.
Brown led the Phoenix in scoring with a career-high 18 points after shooting 60 percent from field goal range and 57 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Elon took advantage of the play of its bench with 32 points coming off players who don’t regularly start.
Following Brown’s performance was that of reigning Southern Conference freshman of the year, sophomore forward Jenifer Rhodes, who posted her first double-double of the 2014-2015 season after scoring 10 points and taking a team-leading 10 rebounds. Freshman center Malaya Johnson and sophomore guard Essence Baucom also scored in double digits as well with 13 and 12 points respectively.
Brown led the charge early for Elon after scoring 16 of her 18 total points in the first half alone, highlighted by back-to-back three pointers. The Phoenix held control for most of the half after a Baucom lay-up put Elon ahead 36-22 with 1:16 left just before both teams entered their locker rooms.
When play was resumed, the Tribe cut the deficit to nine points after starting the second half on a 4-0 run. Essence Baucom came in clutch again for the Phoenix after drilling a three-point shot to make the score 41-29 in Elon’s favor to stop the William & Mary run.
The Tribe inched its way back to within six points to make the score 47-41 with 11:20 remaining in the game before Elon proceeded to go on a 16-2 run that put the Phoenix away for good. Elon took the largest lead of the night over the course of the run, leading by as much as 21 points.
The Phoenix will resume play on Sunday, Jan. 11 when it plays host to the College of Charleston at Alumni Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.