Elon outlasted Drexel, 57-45, to capture its second straight CAA Championship.
Elon Repeats as #CAAChamps
Kelly McCarthy
Championship Central | Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery | Sights & Sounds | Elon Postgame
PHILADELPHIA (March 10, 2018) – For the second straight season, the Phoenix are going dancing. Third-seeded Elon held off a late comeback by top-seeded Drexel to pull out a 57-45 win and capture the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Basketball Championship in front of a near-sellout crowd at the Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC).
Trailing 49-31 enter the fourth quarter, Drexel (26-7) mounted a furious comeback, outscoring Elon (25-7) by a margin of 14-8, to pull within six points with four minutes remaining. Elon regrouped and scored the final six points of the game to extend its winning streak 13-straight victories and punch its ticket to the NCAA Championship.
The Phoenix was led by CAA Championship Most Outstanding Performer
Shay Burnett, who had 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Senior
Malaya Johnson, who was also on the All-Tournament Team finished with 14 points. Rookie
Saadia Munford added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Elon, backed by eight points from Burnett, set the tone early, jumping out to a 12-6 lead. Drexel’s
Aubree Brown made it a four-point game, 12-8, at 4:22 but the Phoenix closed out the first quarter on a 7-1 run. Brown banked in a three-pointer to end a six-minute Drexel scoring drought and cut the deficit to 20-12. Burnett had the answer two minutes later with a rainbow three-pointer from the top of the key, and then Munford hit a pair of free throws with 28 ticks on the clock to send the Phoenix into the break with a 27-17 advantage. Elon shot 55.0 percent in the first half, connecting on 11-of-20 shots while the Dragons went just 7-for-33 from the field.
The Phoenix held the Dragons without a point for the first 4:17 of the third quarter until
Bailey Greenberg hit a pair of free throws. Twenty seconds later, rookie
Hannah Nihill hit Drexel’s first field goal of the period with a three-pointer to make the score 36-22. The two teams battled it out for the remainder of the period, but Elon held a comfortable 49-31 lead heading into the fourth.
The Dragons came out strong in the final quarter, hitting three of the first four shots to cut the gap 51-38. With 6:30 left to play, Nihill buried three free throws to cut the deficit to 10 points. After a stop on the defensive end, the Dragons got a huge bucket from Lidge to pull them within 51-43. Drexel turned their defense into offense once more, this time
Niki Metzel came through with a lay-up to pull the Dragons within 51-45.
Nihill finished with a team-high 14 points and five steals. Greenberg and senior
Kelsi Lidge were named to the All-Tournament Team. Greenberg tallied 13 points while Lidge had eight points.
Elon will find out its NCAA Tournament fate on March 12 during ESPN’s Selection Monday Special Show from 7 to 8 p.m.
#CAACHAMPS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Shay Burnett, Elon (Most Outstanding Performer)
Malaya Johnson, Elon
Bailey Greenberg, Drexel
Kelsi Lidge, Drexel
Kelly Koshuta, James Madison
Samone DeFreese, Delaware
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The attendance for the CAA Championship title game was 2,441. The capacity of the Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) is 2,509.
- Saturday’s championship contest was the first No. 1 vs. No. 3 match-up since 2015.
- Elon is only the second No. 3 seed in CAA Championship history to win a title. The only other time was in 1992 when Old Dominion topped No. 1 seed East Carolina.
- Elon won its second-straight CAA Championship on an opponents’ home court.
- The Phoenix have won their last six CAA tournament games, dating back to last year.
- Elon Head Coach Charlotte Smith is 7-2 all-time in CAA Championship action. She is now eighth all-time in league history for tournament wins.
- The Dragons are 15-1 at the DAC this season.
- Drexel Head Coach Denise Dillon is 17-13 all-time in CAA Championship play. The 17 victories are the fourth most in league history.