Women’s basketball extends win streak to four

Mike Vivenzio / Reporter

If there was one word to describe the women’s basketball season, it would be determination.  The team didn’t fold when the news of star player, senior Holly Andrews’ season ending injury was announced. The way the Phoenix responded was simple: win.  Since the injury, the Phoenix are undefeated and after a close victory at Davidson on Valentine’s Day, the lady Phoenix are now in fourth place in the Southern Conference with four games remaining in the season.  All of the remaining games are against Southern Conference opponents, the top three teams in the conference.  Since the injury, junior Jessica Williams—who replaced Andrews in the starting lineup—has won conference player of the week. Williams is averaging 19.3 points a game and has hit 16 of 30 three point attempts.  Since the injury, the defensive presence of Phoenix senior Courtney Nyborg has kept opposing offenses at bay.  Nyborg recently set the all-time block record at Elon. 

Of course, the presence of Andrews on the court is sorely missed. But players have stepped up to soften the blow.  Redshirt senior Lisa Miller has scored 49 points and added 19 assists over the last three games, with her biggest game against the College of Charleston, in which she dropped 20 points and 10 assists to record her first double-double of the season.  In addition to Miller, junior Brianne Gray has stepped up on offense and defense, recording double-digit points and rebounds in various games.  Sophomore Samantha McComas and freshman Brittany Winner have taken advantage of extra playing time.

Overall, the lady Phoenix (14-9, 10-6 SoCon) is in the midst of a three game win streak.  The true tests for the Phoenix are yet to come, as it plays host to Chattanooga and East Tennessee State University, the number one and number two teams in the conference respectively, in back-to-back games.  If records mean anything, the lady Phoenix will have the edge in these two games, as it is 25-4 at home over the past two seasons.  Earlier in the season, the Phoenix was blown out by Chattanooga, 84-58 in Chattanooga and wound up losing by 10, 64-54 to ETSU in Johnson City a game later.  Now the Phoenix are looking for revenge, and at the same time looking to climb that SoCon ladder even higher as tournament time creeps closer.

Courtesy of Jerome Strum

Redshirt senior guard Lisa Miller has stepped up since the injury to Holly Andrews.