The Elon University women’s basketball team’s ferocious fourth-quarter comeback fell short in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament 77-75 to the Hofstra University Pride.
Finding itself down 10 points with 2:43 left to play in the game, Elon scored 12 of the game’s last 14 points to put pressure on the Pride. Sophomore forward Emily Maupin found herself open in the corner in the waning seconds of the game to heave up a prayer. One high-arcing bounce of the side of the rim later, and Elon’s season ended.
The Pride was propelled by senior guard Boogie Brozoski, who had a CAA Tournament-record 42 points for Hofstra on 13-24 shooting from the field. Her historic performance also pushed her over the 1,000 career-point mark.
Elon had to rely heavily on the contributions of Maupin and sophomore forward Jaylin Powell for the majority of its offensive output. Maupin scored 14 points and chipped in seven rebounds while Powell clocked in a double-double, leading the team in both points and assists with 19 and 10 respectively.
Turnover troubles hurt the Phoenix early as it tallied 15 before halftime. The team was able to clean up its act in the second half with only six for the rest of the game. After being down as many as 16 points in the second quarter, Elon slowly clawed its way back into the game with 14 of the half’s last 19 points.
A major factor in Elon being able to close the gap late was junior guard Lexi Mercer, who found the bottom of the basket for the first time with 1:52 left in the game. She made her presence felt down the stretch, scoring seven of Elon’s last 10 points.
Hofstra now advances to play James Madison University tomorrow in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Elon is sent back south, having failed to defend its CAA title. This is the earliest exit for the team since the 2015-2016 season.
Elon is fortunate, though, as the team will not lose any players following graduation. The Phoenix will be led next year by Mercer and junior guard Jada Graves, who will both be seniors. Graves missed the entire 2018-2019 season after suffering an injury in the opening game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.