Through the first 36 minutes of the game, not much was going right for the Elon University women’s basketball team. Despite multiple comeback attempts, North Carolina A&T always seemed to have an answer. Yet head coach Charlotte Smith refused to accept defeat.
She kept telling her players to believe they would come back even during the fourth quarter where it seemed like A&T would notch its 18th win of the season.
Eventually that would come to fruition as the Phoenix finished the game on a 10-0 run to stun A&T 70-69 on Senior Day.
Smith said it was a special day and was proud of the team’s ability to go out on a positive note in its last home game of the season.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Smith said. “Proud of our energy and our attitude today. This is the way that you want to go out.”
Smith added that the win is a significant confidence boost for the team after losing 91-51 to Charleston on Feb. 28. She believes this game showed Elon’s potential as a team.
“You need some wind in your sails when you’ve gone through storms,” Smith said. “The good thing is I’m surrounded by resilient people who understand we just have to weather it until we are able to play to the best of our ability. Today was just a glimpse of who we are.”
After being tied 7-7 with 6:38 in the first quarter, A&T would lead for the majority of the game. The team finished the first quarter leading 21-13 and stretched its lead by as many as 12 points early in the second quarter.
During the second and third quarter, Elon cut the deficit to two points each time. However, it would find themselves trailing by three possessions by the end of the period.
Midway through the fourth quarter, it looked as if A&T would finally hold on, leading 69-60 with under four minutes remaining.
Smith said she spent the majority of the second half telling her players to have faith they would come back. She even began breaking down how they would rally late in the game.
“I told them we’re gonna win this game,” Smith said. “I was already talking about scenarios before they even happened just to try and give them confidence.”
As the fourth quarter progressed, redshirt sophomore Raven Preston would significantly impact the contest. Down 69-61 with under two minutes, Preston went on her own 7-0 run to bring Elon to within one.
Preston said she simply wanted to win and was going to do whatever it took at that point of the game.
“We all came together and said this is our game,” Preston said. “It doesn’t matter who scores as long as we win.”
Preston would finish the game with all of her 27 points occurring in the second half.
After a defensive stop, sophomore guard Maraja Pass drew a 3-point foul with 1.7 seconds left. She calmly made 2 of 3 shots to give Elon a thrilling last second win.
Smith said at that point in the game, she wanted the team to take whatever was the best shot available.
“Sometimes playmakers have to make plays and coaches can get in the way of doing too much,” Smith said. “Sometimes you have to let gamers game, and that’s what we did down the stretch.”
Preston was also very happy for Pass, noting how hard she competes on a regular basis and for her hard work to pay off in a critical game.
As for Preston herself, the performance was a season high for her. It also comes after sitting out all of last season with an injury.
Preston said the amount of repetition played a big part in her performance, along with her coaches and teammates believing in her.
“It just speaks to repetition,” Preston said. “My teammates and my coaches trusted me and helped me stay confident in myself. It means a lot.”
Preston believes the team needs to stay humble and remain focused if they want to build on the win before the CAA tournament on March 12. The Phoenix will play two more games on the road.
The win puts Elon back over .500 at 14-13. It is its first win since Feb. 14 against Wilmington.
Smith likened the win to Elon’s team name being the Phoenix as a nod to rising from the ashes.
“That’s who we are,” Smith said. “We rise from the ashes and that last game, we got burnt but you look back and then you focus forward.”
Elon will travel to Northeastern for its penultimate game at 7 p.m. March 6.