Elms College, MCLA Advance To Blazer Tip-Off Tournament Championship Game

Friday, November 20
Game 1: Elms College defeats Johnson State College, 57-46 Box Score
Game 2: Mass. College of Liberal Arts defeats Simmons College, 71-65 Box Score

Saturday, November 21
1:00 p.m. Consolation Game: Johnson State College vs. Simmons College
3:00 p.m. Championship Game: MCLA vs. Elms College

*-An award ceremony will immediately follow the conclusion of the championship game.

CHICOPEE, MA – Elms College senior Amanda Brogna (Oxford, Mass.) scored a team-high 17 points, while Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) sophomore Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, N.Y.) poured in a game-high 23 points to lead their teams to the championship game of the Blazer Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Elms College.

Elms College defeated Johnson State 57-46 in the opening game, while MCLA held on for a 71-65 victory over Simmons College in the latter game.

Elms College (1-0) and MCLA (2-0) advance to the championship game slated to tip-off at 3:00 p.m., while Johnson State (0-2) will face Simmons (1-1) at 1:00 p.m. in the consolation contest.

Elms College 56, Johnson State College 46

Elms College took a 28-19 lead into the half, but Johnson State came firing back early in the second half using a 12-5 run to narrow the deficit to two at 36-34. Blazers sophomore point guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, Mass.) broke a 42-42 deadlock when she nailed a jumper which started a 9-1 run with 7:02 remaining in the game. From there, the Badgers never got to within more than three.

Brogna led the Blazers in the season opener with 17 points and six boards, while Talmadge added 12 points and six assists.

The Blazers held the Badgers to 5 of 27 beyond the arc and 31 percent shooting overall.

Maria Gleason (Enosburg, V.T.) led the Johnson State offense with 17 points, while Claudia Martineau (Washington, V.T.) owned the boards with 12 rebounds (11 defensive).

MCLA 71, Simmons College 65

Simmons College posted a 36-34 advantage over MCLA in the opening period before the Trailblazers stormed out of the gates in the second half with a 12-2 run to establish an eight-point cushion and set the score at 48-40. Simmons’ Brittany Dolloff (Hollis, N.H), Stephanie Fox (West Springfield, Mass.) and Julianna Eagles (Quincy, Mass.) each netted three-pointers on three different occasions to pull the Sharks to within three each time, setting the score at 68-65 before MCLA’s Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, N.Y.) nailed two from the stripe and Molly Broda (Southampton, Mass.) added a free throw to secure the 71-65 victory.

Wehner led the Trailblazers with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Lucy Tremblay (East Greenbush, N.Y.) chipped in 17 in the victory. Hillary Perks (Saugerties, N.Y.) and Jade Prickett (Westhampton, Mass.) collected seven points apiece.

Fox posted a double-double, collecting 19 points and 15 rebounds to lead Johnson State, while Eagles finished with 17 in losing effort.