WBB Clipped at Elms

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College forward Denisha Parks scored a team-best 20 points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds and the Blazers shot 46.5 percent from the field to help secure a 79-60 victory over Mitchell College in Thursday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improved to 16-6 on the season, 13-2 in NECC action, while Mitchell slid to 6-15 overall, 5-10 in NECC play. Elms' victory also tied the program's single-season win mark (16) set during the 1990-91 season under head coach Kate Mullen.

In the opening period, Elms fought off an early five-point lead by Mitchell. With the score tied at 15-15 with 11:27 to play, the Blazers used a 16-5 run to stake a 31-20 lead with 5:12 to play in the stanza.

The Mariners answered with seven of the next 10 points on the strength of a trey and a field goal by freshman Hannah Smith to pull Mitchell to within seven at 34-27 with 1:39 on the clock. But Carolyn Talmadge swished back-to-back three-pointers and Ellen Donohue canned a trey of her own to lift Elms to a 43-29 cushion at intermission.

Both teams were stellar from the floor in the first half as Mitchell shot 48.1 percent led by freshman Sheanna James' 13 points, while Elms hit on 50.0 percent of its shots. Parks scored 10 points, Talmadge chipped in nine points and Erika Murphy added eight points in the first half.

Elms kept a double-digit lead throughout the second half, never allowing the Mariners to pull to within more than 12 points. The Blazers led by as many as 20 (77-57) with 2:42 remaining in the game following a strike from beyond the arc by Gianna Youngblood.

Four Blazers' starters finished with double-figure point totals as Emily Boucher followed Parks' 20-point effort with 12 points, while Talmadge and Murphy chipped in 11 points apiece. Donohue added nine points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field, while Youngblood netted eight points in the winning effort.

Parks and Murphy contributed 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively, to finish with double-doubles in the contest. Talmadge handed out nine assists and Donohue dished out five to help spark Elms' offensive effort.

James was solid in defeat for Mitchell, netting a game-high 21 points and adding six boards. Junior Kaylee Cerruto followed with 13 points while senior Bianca Young added 12 and Smith finished with 10.

Mitchell returns to action at home against Newbury College on Saturday, February 11 at 12 p.m.