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ELON, N.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team rallied from 14 down to tie the game, 57-57, with 4:39 to play, but host Elon held on to defeat the Lady Colonels, 68-61, on Wednesday night in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI).

It was EKU’s first postseason appearance since 2005. The Lady Colonels (18-12) end 2012-13 with 18 wins, the most by an Eastern team since that championship season of 2005.

No. 5 seed EKU fell behind No. 4 Elon (19-13), 47-33, when Ali Ford knocked down a three-pointer for the Phoenix with 12:37 to play in the game. However, Senior Raechele Gray then rallied the Lady Colonels with a pair of three-pointers as EKU went on a 17-6 run over the next five minutes to pull within three, 53-50, with 7:29 on the clock. Three minutes later, senior Jalisa Bryant completed the comeback by knocking down a pair of free throws to make it 57-57.

Elon responded to the tie by reeling off six straight points as foul shots by Zora Stephenson with 2:48 to play made it 63-57. The Phoenix then connected on five more free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Bryant paced EKU with a career-high 19 points in her final game as a Lady Colonel. Senior Alex Jones, meanwhile, scored 11 points and grabbed 11 boards. It was Jones’ 38th career double-double, tying Laphelia Doss for the EKU record in that category.

Kelsey Evans poured in 26 points to lead the Phoenix to the win.