The Elon University women’s basketball team (10-9) fell to the Towson University Tigers 67-52 on Feb. 6 for a fourth straight loss. 

Elon got off to a hot start and led 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. Towson began to settle into the game in the second quarter, fighting back in to cut the lead to one point at halftime. Senior guard Brie Perpignan exploded in the first half with 13 points to lead the Phoenix. 

The second half was a different story, as Elon clinged to a 45-42 lead at the end of the third quarter. But the constant defensive pressure and high-intensity style of basketball displayed by Towson was too much for Elon to contain. Towson erupted in the fourth quarter, outscoring Elon 25-7 as the Tigers coasted to the 67-52 victory. 

“We have to play with a greater level of physicality,” head coach Charlotte Smith said after the contest. “We must control the controllables which are defense and rebounding.”

Perpignan and fellow senior guard Kayla Liles carried the load for the Phoenix. Perpignan scored a team-high 20 points in 37 minutes of action, while Liles contributed 15 points with a trio of three-pointers and nine rebounds. 

At halftime, both teams honored cancer survivors. The Elon women’s basketball team used its platform to raise awareness for the Play4Kay foundation. Named for Kay Yow, Elon’s first women’s basketball coach and member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Play4Kay foundation seeks to bring communities together and honor cancer warriors in the fight against all different types of cancer. 

“It’s a very special day today because there are bigger things happening out there in the world,” Smith said. “We are playing the game of life and they are fighting the game of life.”

With the loss, the Phoenix have dropped to 10-9 on the season, with a 2-7 in the conference. Elon’s women’s basketball team returns to action this Friday, Feb. 11, as the Phoenix travel to UNC Wilmington to face off against the Seahawks. Elon will look to defeat the Seahawks and gain momentum before heading to the CAA conference tournament in just over a month’s time.