Women’s Basketball Bested by Blazers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Elms (8-7,3-2 Great No) | 13 | 12 | 20 | 17 | 62 |
|
Mitchell (2-10,0-4 Great N) | 6 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 49 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's basketball team fell behind early and were unable to rally against Elms College on Tuesday evening, falling to the Blazers 62-49 in GNAC action at the Yarnall Athletic Center. The Mariners drop to 0-4 in conference play with the loss, while the Blazers move above the .500 mark in GNAC play on the season, improving to 3-2.
Once against it was senior Yasmine Santos (Pawtucket, R.I.) leading the way for the Mariners, as the reigning GNAC Player of the Week recorded her 12th double-double in 13 games this season, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists. Fellow senior Alexia Watson (Stamford, Conn.) was only other Mitchell player to finish in double-figures scoring, chipping in 11 points, eight rebounds, and two steals off the bench. Sophomore Jamya Beddoe (New London, Conn.) added eight points, six rebounds, and three steals for the Mariners, who shot just 29.2% from the floor and 23.1% from three-point range.
A defensive battle early on, the Mariners led 2-0 until the 6:09 mark of the opening quarter, and after a Yasmine Santos layup put Mitchell up 6-5 three minutes later, the Blazers would take the lead for good when Brianna Metellus scored to make it a 7-6 game with 3:00 on the clock. Elms then ended the frame on a 6-0 run, but a big second stanza in which Santos scored 10 of her 24 points had the Mariners trailing by just five at the intermission, 25-20.
The Mariners were unable to replicate that success coming out of the locker room, as the Blazers outscored them 20-13 in the third quarter, with 14 of those points coming from senior Rahmia Johnson. Holding a 12-point advantage at that point, Talia Uribe scored the opening basket of the fourth for Elms, and they would lead by as many as 16 points down the stretch, going 9-12 from the free throw line over the final 10 minutes of play to seal the win.
Johnston paced the Blazers with 25 points and eight rebounds, while Uribe recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, and Jenny Gorski contributed 10 points and grabbed eight boards off the bench.
A poor shooting night across the board, both teams shot under 35% from the floor and combined to go just 9-37 from three-point range. The Blazers and Mariners each finished with 40 rebounds, however Elms forced 30 Mitchell turnovers, which in turn led to 31 points.
The Mariners (2-11, 0-5 GNAC) will look to pick up their first conference victory when they return to action on Saturday, January 20th, on the road at Emmanuel College, with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 pm. The Blazers (8-7, 3-2 GNAC) host MCLA in non-conference action on Thursday, January 18th.
