Women's Basketball Claims Fourth Straight Win

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's basketball team picked up their fourth straight victory with a 60-51 win over visiting Mitchell College in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) matchup at Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon. The Blazers improve to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while Mitchell slides to 0-2 in the NECC and 1-3 on the season.

The offenses started out slow with the Mariners grabbing a 3-0 lead behind senior Shannon Boyle (Attleboro, Mass.) until a trey from Elms junior Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) knotted the game at the 7:41 mark of the first quarter. The Blazers used a 7-2 run, fueled by four points from senior Maira Pantoja (East Windsor, Conn.), to capture a 10-5 advantage with 3:28 left in the quarter. The Mariners chipped away at the deficit behind a 6-1 run, featuring four points from Mitchell junior Jessica Shepard (West Hartford, Conn.), to knot the game at 11-11 until a last second layup from Elms freshman Chaniah Pantry (New Haven, Conn.) gave the Blazers a 13-11 lead heading into the second quarter.

A jumper from Mitchell senior Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn.) gave the Mariners a 15-13 lead at the 8:10 mark. The Blazers regained a 22-17 lead with a 9-2 run, powered by three-point efforts by Burr and junior Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.), but the Mariners would tie things up at 22-22 on a bucket from freshman Kate McCormack (Narragansett, R.I.). Elms took a 25-24 lead into the intermission.

The Blazers built a 33-26 lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Leading 33-30 with 5:20 left in the quarter, Elms began to pull away with a 14-5 run, helmed by seven points from Burr, closed the period with a 47-35 lead.

Pantry converted a jumper in the paint to give the Blazers their largest lead of the game, 51-35, with 8:28 remaining in the contest. The Mariners tried to mount a rally, whittling the Elms lead to single digit behind a 14-4 run, carried by six points from Shepard, over the next seven minutes of play to make it a 55-49 game. The Mariners were forced to foul down the stretch, and Elms freshman Kayla Aberdale (Housatonic, Mass.) kept Mitchell at bay, converting five of six free throw attempts to lock up the 60-51 win for the Blazers.

"Today was a hard-fought game against a tough team," said Elms College Head Coach Michelle Proulx. "We showed great composure and got out with a win. We got in some serious foul trouble, but truly showed how deep we can be and want to be. We have a lot to work on but we feel great finishing off our first conference week at 3-0."

Burr led the Blazers offense with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds. Aberdale matched a career-high with 11 points and three rebounds off the bench, while Marques snared a game-high 13 rebounds with six points. Pantry notched eight points and five rebounds, and Pantoja added seven points in the win.

Shepard poured in a game-high 18 points with six rebounds for the Mariners. Mitchell senior Diamond Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) tallied 12 points and five rebounds, and Garcia came off the bench with seven rebounds and six points.

The Blazers controlled the rebounding category, 54-44, during the contest. Elms connected on 35.4% (17-of-48) from the floor, including 35.7% (5-of-14) from three-point range, and 51.2% (21-of-41) from the foul line. Mitchell shot 22.1% (15-of-68) from the field and 61.8% (21-of-34) from the free throw line.

The Blazers will look to maintain their win streak with a non-conference home tilt against Bard College Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Mitchell hosts Trinity (Conn.) in non-conference action Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.

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