Women’s Basketball Falls to Mitchell in OT, 81-73
Women’s Basketball
Falls to Mitchell in OT, 81-73
Carolyn Talmadge Breaks Program’s All-Time Assist
Record
Box
Score
CHICOPEE, Mass. – Sophomore guard
Christina Korney (Feeding Hills, Mass.) drained a
three-pointer with .4 seconds remaining in regulation to send the
game into overtime, tied at 67-67, however, Mitchell
College’s Alix O’Neil (New London,
Conn.) scored six of her team’s 14 points in the
extra frame to give the Mariners an 81-73 overtime win in
Saturday’s New England Collegiate Conference (NECC)
women’s basketball game at Picknelly Arena.
With the win, Mitchell improved to 10-10 overall, 10-4 in NECC
play, while the Blazers dropped to 8-15 on the season, 7-7 in the
NECC.
Sophomore guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham,
Mass.) dished out seven assists, and became the
program’s all-time assists leader with 225 helpers. The
record was previously held by Michelle Fernandes who totaled up 220
assists from 2004-2008.
Trailing, 65-61 with 48 seconds remaining in regulation, senior
guard Jessica Jurkowski (Belchertown, Mass.) made
a tip-in to pull the Blazers within two. Leading by one, 65-64,
with seven seconds remaining Destiney Harris (Bristol,
Conn.) connected on two free throws to give the Mariners a
three-point lead. The Blazers went the length of the floor which
included an outlook pass from Talmadge to Korney who would make a
dramatic three-pointer with .4 seconds to go in the second half to
cap off a 17-point second half comeback and send the game into
overtime.
O’Neil scored five points, including a three-point play in
the first 1:39 of overtime to open up a 72-67 lead for the
Mariners. Talmadge’s lay-up with 3:07 to go in the extra
frame cut the lead to 72-69.
Mitchell would receive outstanding free throw shooting, as they
went 5-6 from the line over the final 1:07 of overtime to secure
the 81-73 win for the Mariners. The impressive performance from the
foul line was highlighted by Jennifer Iglesias (Waterbury,
Conn.), who went 4-4 from the stripe in overtime.
Brittany Smyth’s (Winsted, Conn.)
three-pointer with 18:52 remaining in the second half gave Mitchell
its biggest lead of the game at 40-24. The Blazers would respond
with an 8-1 run over the next 1:25. The run included five points
from Talmadge as she went 2-2 from the line and added a
three-pointer. Senior guard Annie Dunnack’s
(Mansfield Center, Conn.) layup with 16:15 to go in the
second frame brought Elms within eight cutting Mitchell’s
lead to 41-33.
The Mariner’s regained that double digit lead with a
three-pointer by Kaylee Cerruto (Torrington,
Conn.) 5:58 into the second half giving Mitchell a 45-34
lead. Elms would once again answer as Talmadge’s
three-pointer and sophomore guard Katie Condon’s
(Sandy Hook, Conn.) layup cut the lead to 45-39 with 12:18
left in regulation.
Leading by six, Mitchell went on a 13-5 run over the span of 4:08.
The run was capped off with a three-point play by Harris which gave
the Mariner’s a 58-42 lead with 7:57 to go in the second
half.
The Blazers would answer with a 13-2 run that brought them within
five with 3:49 to go in regulation. Dunnack’s pair of free
throws cut Mitchell’s lead to 60-55.
Trailing 62-57 with 3:12 to go in regulation, the Blazers would go
on a 12-5 run to close out the second half. A tip-in by Condon and
a jumper by Dunnack cut Mitchell’s lead to 62-59. Condon
would hit another jumper with 2:05 remaining in the second frame to
make it a 62-61 game.
Iglesias made one of two free throws, and Harris connected on two
from the line to give Mitchell a 65-61 lead with 1:02 remaining in
regulation. The Blazers would score six of the final eight points
of the second half, including Korney’s near buzzer beating
three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
Dunnack scored a team-high 18 points, while Jurkowski added 15 of
her own for Elms in the overtime loss. Korney scored 14 points,
while Talmadge and Condon both added 13 points respectively for the
Blazers.
In the win, Harris earned a double-double, with a game-high 21
points and 11 rebounds, while Iglesias contributed 20 points and 6
assists of her own. O’Neil reached double figures as well
with 13 points, and pulled down six rebounds in the Mariners’
winning effort.
Elms continues NECC action when it hosts Wheelock College on
Thursday at Picknelly Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
