The Elon University women’s basketball team could not stop Towson University in the fourth quarter, giving up 37 points en route to a 85-78 Colonial Athletic Association loss Friday night.
With the game tied at 48 after three periods, Elon gave up eight straight points in a two-minute, 50-second stretch to fall behind by double-digits with the Tigers. The Phoenix fought back, pulling the game to within five points with 1:15 left.
Then Elon head coach Charlotte Smith had her team foul Towson, sending the Tigers to the free throw line in the final 67 seconds. The Tigers did not falter, making 15 of 18 free throws to stave off the attempted comeback.
For Elon, junior guard Lauren Brown led the team with 17 points off the bench, though she shot 5-15 from the field and 4-13 from deep. Sophomore guard Shay Burnett added 13 points and junior guard Essence Baucom tallied 11 points. Junior forward Jenifer Rhodes contributed a team-high nine rebounds and nine points.
Towson junior guard Raven Bankston and senior guard Dominique Johnson tied for the scoring lead at 23 points. Johnson, Bankston and Bankston’s sister, redshirt sophomore guard Raine Bankston, combined to shoot 17-20 from the free throw line and the Tigers as a team shot 20-25 from the line in the fourth quarter.
The Phoenix concludes its two-game road trip in Philadelphia at 2 p.m. Sunday against Drexel University.