GAME DAY! How to cheer on Elon women in historic NCAA basketball tournament game

It’s the final phase of a season that has seen the team take home both the Colonial Athletic Association regular season and conference tournament championships while compiling a 27-6 record. The team will make history this afternoon when it takes the court at 2:30 p.m. against sixth-seeded West Virginia University in College Park, Maryland. 

Friday’s game will air on ESPN2 and WatchESPN with Courtney Lyle and Tamika Catchings on the call. The game will air in its entirety on ESPN2 in the states of North Carolina, West Virginia and a portion of Pennsylvania and will be part of ESPN’s Whip-Around coverage across the rest of the United States.

​In North Carolina, the game will follow sixth-seeded N.C. State University and 11th-seeded Auburn University in Austin, Texas, on ESPN2. Fans can also hear the game against the Mountaineers over the airwaves on WSOE 89.3 FM or online on Phoenix All-Access with Riley Beal on the call.

Those on campus are invited to gather on the first floor of the Moseley Center at 2:30 p.m. to watch the game and root for the team, with food and refreshments provided. 

“It’s been such an amazing time,” said Lauren Brown ’17 during a press conference Thursday. “I’m just trying to take it all in.”

Elon and West Virginia have met four times to date with the Mountaineers winning all four matchups, all in Morgantown, West Virginia, dating back to 2010. The Phoenix and Mountaineers last met a season ago on Dec. 28, 2015, with West Virginia taking a 67-57 win. The 10-point loss is the closest margin of defeat for the Phoenix against the Mountaineers.

​Elon defeated UNCW 82-48 back on March 1 at home to claim the regular season title before going on to beat James Madison, 78-60, on March 11 in the CAA Tournament Final in Harrisonburg, Va., to win the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This is the first NCAA Tournament appearance for Elon basketball, men or women. ​

Adding to the historic nature of a season thats included the team’s first regular season and conference tournament championships along with its first NCAA bid, three players have reached the 1,000-career-point mark this season. Lauren Brown, Shay Burnett and Jenifer Rhodes all topped the millenium mark — the first time in team history a trip of teammates has hit the milestone in the same season. Before this year, two players reaching 1,000 points in the same season had been done twice by Venessa Corbett and Lou Williamson in 1979-80 and Elizabeth Ward and Laura Case in 1992-93.

Elon alumni, parents and fans will be gathering before the game for a social beginning at noon at the Sheraton College Park North Hotel in Beltsville, Maryland. If you’re planning to attend, you can register here.