Hot Shooting Lifts Elon to Quarterfinals Over Hofstra
BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS | SIGHTS & SOUNDS | PHOTO GALLERY | HOFSTRA PRESSER | ELON PRESSER
ELON, N.C. (March 11, 2020) – Hot-shooting Elon used a balanced offensive attack to top 10
th-seeded Hofstra, 71-51, in the opening round of the 2020 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by Sonabank, on Wednesday evening at Schar Center.
The seventh-seeded Phoenix (14-16) will face #2 James Madison at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Six Elon players tallied at least seven points, including four in double digits. Ariel Colon paced the Phoenix with 13 points, Tyja Traore scored 12 and Jaylin Powell went 3-for-3 from 3-point range and added 11. Powell was part of an impressive performance from beyond the arc by Elon, which made 8-of-12 treys, including 7-of-11 in the second half.
Hofstra (3-27) was led by sophomore forward Jaylen Hines, who recorded her eighth double-double of the season with game-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Sandra Karsten chipped in 14 points.
Hofstra made four of its first five shots from the floor and jumped out to a 10 -5 lead following a Hines three-point play at the 6:09 mark of the opening quarter. However, Elon responded by closing the first period on a 12-2 run to go up 17-12.
The Phoenix continued the momentum by scoring the first six points of the second quarter and went up 23-12 on Kayla Liles’ layup with 7:20 to go until halftime. The Pride pulled back within six with 6:13 remaining before Elon finished the half on an 11-0 run to take a commanding 34-17 lead at the break.
Hofstra shot 60% (9-15) from the floor in the third quarter, but was unable to carve into the Elon advantage as the Phoenix drained 5-of-8 from 3-point range in the period, including a four-point play by Saadia Munford with three-tenths of a second remaining that put Elon ahead 54-38. The Phoenix maintained at least a 14-point margin through the final quarter.
Elon shot 47.4% for game and made 9-of-11 from the free throw line to supplement its stellar effort from three. Hofstra hit 44.9% from the floor, including 53.6% in the second half, but was hurt by 23 turnovers.