Women's Basketball Held Off By Mitchell, 54-48
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HELD OFF BY MITCHELL, 54-48
CHICOPEE, MA, Feb. 7, 2009 - Mitchell College sophomore guard Allison Peck (Colchester, CT) netted a game-high 21 points, including four clutch free throws and a jumper in the game's final five minutes to help the visiting Mariners secure a 54-48 win over Elms College in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at the Maguire Center.
Mitchell, which avenged a 77-47 loss to Elms College nine days ago, won its third straight to improve to 9-9 overall, 8-2 NECC.
The Blazers had their five-game win streak snapped and fell to 10-10, 8-3 NECC.
The game was tied 38-38 with 6:33 left following a pair of free throws by Elms College freshman point guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, MA).
Sophomore guard Brittany Smyth (Winsted, CT) answered with a 3-pointer to give the Mariners a 41-38 lead.
The Blazers trailed 43-42 following a layup by freshman guard Katie Condon (Sandy Hook, CT) with 5:19 remaining, but Peck responded with four straight free throws and a jumper over the next 2:51 to give the Mariners the lead for good at 49-44.
Elms College's defense was solid in containing Mitchell junior guard Jen Iglesias (Waterbury, CT), who played all 40 minutes, and was held to just 11 points on 4 of 15 shooting, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range. Iglesias had scored a game-high 35 points in the Mariners' conference win at Daniel Webster on Thursday night to become the first Mitchell player in program-history to surpass 1,000 points.
Talmadge finished with 14 points six rebounds and three assists as the only player to reach double figures for Elms College, which was held to 29.0-percent shooting in the second half.
Both teams made just 10 first half field goals, as Elms College shot 33.3-percent (10 for 30) and Mitchell converted for just 28.6-percent (10 for 35).
The first half featured a total of seven lead changes in the opening 20 minutes.
Elms College enjoyed its largest lead of the half at 25-19 following a 3-pointer by Condon with 3:45 left before Mitchell ended the frame by scoring six of the last eight points to whittle the Blazers' lead to 27-25 at intermission.
Talmadge dropped in 10 first half points on 4 of 6 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers for the Blazers, while Peck drained four 3-pointers for all 12 of her first half points.
The game featured a total of six ties and 10 lead changes as neither team led by more than six points.
Elms College returns to NECC play when it hosts Wheelock on Thursday, February 12. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m.