After a much needed bounceback win against Presbyterian College on Nov. 10, the Elon women’s basketball team went head-to-head against the Howard University Bisons Nov. 15 to play their fourth game of the season. Despite the hard fought effort and back-and-forth intensity brought forth by the Phoenix, Elon ultimately fell to the Bisons 56-46.
Howard’s control of the game started from the opening minute with a knockdown 3-pointer right out of the gates by junior guard Destiny Bynum-Johnson.
Elon quickly responded with a layup by sophomore forward LaNae’ Corbett, but it wasn't enough to slow down the entourage of points from the Bisons early on.
A calling card for the Bisons throughout the entire game was the mid-range game. Midway through the first quarter, Howard had built an 11-4 lead mostly from knock-down mid range jumpers. Senior forward Zennia Thomas and redshirt junior guard Zoe Stewart made back-to-back mid-range shots that were later followed up by an off the dribble pull-up by freshman guard Ariella Henigan.
Early on in the first quarter Elon wasn’t able to capitalize on their rebounding prowess but that shortly changed as time went on.
After a slight breakaway by the Bisons, Elon’s freshman Tamia Watkins used her size advantage down low and hit a post turn around jumper. On the next possession, Redshirt senior guard Kamyrn Doty followed up by scoring off the rebound to cut into the Bison lead 11-8.
Freshman and junior guards Ashanti Fox and Maraja Pass both used their speed and quickness to get to the hoop and finish close to the rim. With those two explosive offensive plays, Elon had brought the game within one down 12-13.
Howard redshirt sophomore forward Dally Moreno opened the lead up some more with an offensive rebound and layup of her own, but it was quickly followed up by a deep 3-pointer from Elon redshirt junior guard Tyana Walker who tied the game at 15. Walker was the only Phoenix all night who could find her shot from behind the arc, hitting the first 3-pointer of the game for the team and accounting for three out of their five made threes all game.
Head coach Charlotte Smith said the team’s shooting was off all night.
“We just didn’t shoot the ball well tonight,” Smith said. “And when you don’t shoot the ball well, if you're not the shooter, you have to assume it's a miss and go rebound, and unfortunately we did not have very many opportunities.”
Howard opened up the second quarter much like they did in the first by hitting mid range shots.
Elon this time around however was able to respond more effectively by creating more offensive production of their own. After falling down 17-15 to start the quarter, graduate student forward Quinizia Fulmore attracted the double team and was fouled. Fulmore was sent to the line and she delivered on both free throws.
Doty then hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Elon the lead for the first time all game. But the Bison were able to respond though with Thomas hitting a 3-pointer to take the lead back at 22-20. Even though both teams struggled with shooting throughout the game, many of their made baskets came in spurts in response to each other.
The later stage of the second quarter mostly involved back-and-forth lead changes that resulted in a four-point Howard lead with 20 seconds remaining in the half. Elon had the final possession and trusted Pass to receive the inbound and take the ball up the court. The junior guard quickly dribbled the ball up and split through the Bison defense to get off a floater from the free throw line that went in with a second left on the clock, ending the half at 26-24 Howard.
The momentum switches between both teams stayed the same for much of the third quarter. The only difference was that the physicality started to ramp up increasingly. Howard senior forward Nile Miller caused a big turnover on the defensive end by drawing a charge and then followed that up by scoring a layup to give Howard the lead 28-27.
Fox helped push the momentum back in Elon’s favor by scoring a left handed layup and floater to go up 31-30. This would however be the last time Elon would have a lead in the game.
Miller once again found her way down low and scored a layup off a post spin around shot. Miller then intercepted a high pass and ran down the court to score another layup. These two possessions along with two made free throws and another made layup by the Bisons gave Howard a 38-31 lead which was the largest lead of the game at that point. This momentum carried the Bison to the end of the third quarter and gave them a 41-31 lead going into the final ten minutes of play.
Elon fought back during the start of the fourth quarter by playing full court press defense and hitting some big shots on offense, including another two 3-pointers by Walker. Corbett also stepped up big in the final quarter by scoring a layup and knocking down a mid range shot in the corner. The increased effort by the Phoenix was able to bring them back within five points of the Bisons down 49-44 with about four minutes left to play.
In the final moments of the game, Smith also made a major decision as coach to challenge an out-of-bounds call that was originally called Howard ball, but after a livid fan reaction and review by the refs, the decision was reversed and given to Elon.
Unfortunately this momentum shift wasn’t enough for the Phoenix as the Bisons were able to dominate on the offensive boards and get second chance opportunities that added to their lead. Finally, a big 3-pointer by junior forward Sa’lah Hemingway sealed the game, putting the Bisons up 54-44 with almost a minute left in the game.
Despite the loss, Smith is still optimistic about the season and the potential of her team.
“We are a great team, and we experienced growing pains tonight,”Smith said. “But this is an opportunity where you either get bitter or you get better. And tonight we choose to be a better team and look forward to the next game.”
The Phoenix will travel on the road to play Georgetown University on Nov. 24.