The loss caps a historic season for the team, which netted regular season and conference tournament championships and headed to the "big dance" for the first time.
A historic season for the Elon University women’s basketball team came to a close Friday afternoon in College Park, Maryland, after the team dropped a hard-fought game against West Virginia University in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“I think this game is a tough pill for all of us to swallow,” said Elon head coach Charlotte Smith. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team for the way that they came out and played. We had a great game plan and executed and did a lot of things well today.”
The Phoenix ends the season with a record of 27-7, which marks its best record in the team’s Division I history. Elon racked up the wins en route to a regular season Colonial Athletic Association championship and a conference tournament championship that earned a spot for the team in the NCAA tournament.
Head coach Charlotte Smith was named the CAA Coach of the Year by the conference, with Brown taking home the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award while also being named to the 2016-17 CAA All-Academic Team. For a second year in a row, Burnett was named an All-CAA First Team member and she was joined by Rhodes, an All-CAA Third Team honoree.
Alumni, parents and fans gathered in Maryland to cheer the team on while the first floor of the Moseley Center filled with students, faculty and staff to watch the game.