No. 4 Women's Basketball Tops No. 1 Daniel Webster College, 56-52

Box Score
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CHICOPEE, Mass. – The fourth-seeded Elms College women’s basketball team received a team-high 12 points from sophomore point guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, Mass.) to help the Blazers upend No. 1 Daniel Webster College, 56-52 and punch its ticket to the 2009-10 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship tournament title game.

With the win Elms improves to 12-15 on the season, while Daniel Webster concludes its season 20-6 overall. Elms will meet second-seeded Lesley University in the tournament championship game on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass. The Lynx, last season’s tournament champion, topped No. 3 Mitchell College 80-58 in semifinal action to seal its berth in the title matchup.

Trailing 54-48 with 1:27 to play in the contest, Daniel Webster’s Kacie Lang (Raymond, N.H.) hit the front end of two free throws to pull the Eagles to within five. Vanessa Bosques (N. Windham, Conn.) then drained a three-pointer with 44 ticks left to narrow the lead to two at 54-52. Following a turnover and a foul on Daniel Webster’s next possession, senior forward Jessica Jurkowski (Belchertown, Mass.) swished a pair from the charity stripe to help Elms stave off the Eagles’ rally and secure the 56-52 win.

The Blazers held a 28-25 advantage at intermission, and quickly extended that lead to nine as Talmadge struck for a pair of baskets, while sophomore guard Katie Condon (Sandy Hook, Conn.) added a layup to give Elms a 34-25 lead just 1:08 into the second period.

Daniel Webster used a 15-7 run to pull to within one at 41-40 with 10 minutes to play, before Jurkowski and freshman guard Jen Normandie (Westford, Mass.) nailed back-to-back layups to up the lead to five with 8:53 remaining in the contest.

The Eagles answered back, scoring eight of the next 11 points behind a trey from Bosques, a bucket by Joyce Chagan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) and three points from Alycia Gervais (Windham, Conn.) to knot the contest at 48-48.

Elms responded with a 6-0 run on layups by Normandie and Condon, and two free throws from senior forward Erin Hutchinson (Groton, Mass.) to give the Blazers a 54-48 lead before Daniel Webster made its final comeback attempt.

In the opening 20 minutes, the sides fought to five ties and 10 lead changes, with neither team gaining more than a five-point edge.

With the score set at 23-23 with 3:53 to play in the first stanza, Normandie hit the back end of two free throws and then converted a layup to give Elms a 26-23 lead at the 3:22 mark. Senior forward Amanda Brogna (Oxford, Mass.) then added a layup following a missed shot to give Elms a 28-23 lead, before Gervais corralled her own missed shot and put it back with 11 seconds left cutting Daniel Webster’s deficit to 28-25 at halftime.

Normandie finished with 11 points, seven boards and handed five assists, while Hutchinson hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds and added six points in the winning effort.

Brogna collected nine points off the bench, Condon finished with seven points, and Jurkowski added eight rebounds to help pace the Blazers in the victory.

Daniel Webster was led by Bosques’ game-best 19 points, highlighted by five treys. Chagan added 14 points and six rebounds in the losing effort, while Gervais chipped in eight points and six boards for the Eagles.

The Blazers shot 39.6-percent from the field for the game, and held Daniel Webster to just 30.2-percent from the floor to help seal the thrilling victory.