Women’s Basketball Falls To Mitchell, 70-56

Box Score

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Elms College sophomore point guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, Mass.) poured in a game-high 16 points and senior guard Annie Dunnack (Mansfield Center, Conn.) hauled in a game-best 13 rebounds but it was not enough as Mitchell College downed the Blazers 70-56 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women’s basketball action in New London, Conn.

With the loss, Elms moves to 7-12 on the season, 6-4 in conference play, while Mitchell improves to 7-9 overall, 7-3 in league action.

Mitchell sprinted to a 7-0 lead in the opening 2:21 before Talmadge and Dunnack each drained a three-pointer, and Dunnack added a free throw to tie the game at 7-7 at the 16:08 mark. The Mariners then used a 15-4 run to post a 22-11 cushion with 8:47 left in the first stanza.

A trey and a pair of free throws from Elms’ sophomore guard Katie Condon (Sandy Hook, Conn.) cut the deficit to six at 22-16 with 7:55 to play in the frame. Mitchell responded with seven unanswered points, including a three-pointer from Kaylee Cerruto (Torrington, Conn.), and jumpers by Jennifer Iglesias (Waterbury, Conn.) and Alix O’Neil (New London, Conn.), that extended the Mariners’ lead to 14 (30-16) at the 4:12 mark.

Elms scored seven of the final 11 points of the period behind another swish from beyond the arc by Dunnack and a pair of layups by sophomore forward Kelly Callahan (Monson, Mass.) to narrow the gap to 11 (34-23) at intermission.

Mitchell quickly extended its lead to 15 points just 57 seconds into the second half, before the Blazers rallied for seven consecutive points when Talmadge delivered a pair from the charity stripe, senior forward Jessica Jurkowski (Belchertown, Mass.) netted a three-pointer and Condon converted a layup to bring Elms to within eight at 38-30 with 16:47 to play in the contest.

After a pair of free throws by Talmadge brought the Blazers to within nine (43-34) at the 15:05 mark, two straight treys from Cerruto put the Mariners back on top by 15, and Mitchell maintained at least a 12-point lead for the remainder of the game.

Leading 57-41 with 10:41 to go, Mitchell scored 11 of the next 18 points to establish a 20-point, 68-48 advantage, its largest lead of the contest with 5:03 to play. Elms then ended the game on an 8-0 run to pull to within 12 but it was not enough as the Mariners held on for a 14-point 70-56 victory.

Condon netted 12 points, and Dunnack added seven, while Jurkowski and Callahan contributed six points each.

Talmadge and Condon each hauled in seven rebounds in the losing effort.

Mitchell had three players score in double figures as Cerruto connected on four treys and finished with 14 points. Brittany Smyth (Winsted, Conn.) and Destiney Harris (Bristol, Conn.) added 13 points apiece.

Iglesias dished out 10 assists and Harris added 10 rebounds in the winning effort.

Elms returns to NECC action on Saturday, Feb. 6 when it hosts Daniel Webster College. Game-time is set for 2:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.