Southern Vermont College Climbs Past Women’s Basketball, 61-52

Box Score

BENNINGTON, Vt. – Elms College junior guard Katie Condon (Sandy Hook, Conn.) netted 11 points and hauled in a game-best 13 rebounds, but Joa Claircius (Clermont, Fla.) poured in a game-high 17 points to help lift Southern Vermont College to a 61-52 victory in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game in Bennington, Vt.

With the loss, Elms falls to 6-10 overall, 4-3 in NECC action, while Southern Vermont improves to 4-11 overall, 2-6 in conference action.

Trailing 49-42 with 6:22 on the clock, Elms' Taylor Darby (Bristol, Conn.) nailed a trey to spark a 5-0 run to pull the Blazers to within two at 49-47with 3:16 to play. Claircius then completed a three-point play to extend Southern Vermont's lead back to five at 52-47. Condon then converted a three-point play of her own to cut the lead to two (52-50) at the 2:25 mark, and freshman guard Emily Boucher (Ashburnham, Mass.) hit a mid-range jumper to answer a Mountaineers basket to set the score at 54-52 with 1:21 remaining in the contest.

A jumper and a layup by Southern Vermont's Kourtney Hewitt (Bennington, Vt.) and Rita Hall (Temple Hill, Md.), followed by two Hewitt free throws and one from Claircius allowed the Mountaineers to close out the game on a 7-0 run and seal the 61-52 win.

After playing a back and forth first period that saw neither team hold more than a six-point lead until the 1:14 mark, Darby swished the front end of two free throws to give the Blazers a 24-17 advantage. Claircius added a pair of layups to pull to within three at 24-21with 10 ticks on the clock, before Condon converted a layup to give Elms a 26-21 lead at intermission.

Elms scored five of the first seven points to start the second stanza and post a 31-23 lead but Southern Vermont's Alyssa Davis (West Burke, Vt.) scored seven of the Mountaineers' points during an 11-0 run that gave Southern Vermont a 34-31 edge with 13:31 remaining in the game.

The Mountaineers maintained a slim advantage throughout the rest of the contest never allowing Elms to pull to within more than two points.

Boucher and Darby finished with 10 points each, while junior forward Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn.) totaled nine boards. Boucher and Condon added four assists each in the losing effort.

The Mountaineers were led by Hewitt who finished with 12 points behind Claircius' 17, while Davis and Kiara Bates (Washington, D.C.) chipped in with 10 points each to give Southern Vermont four players in double figures. Hewitt added a team-high 10 rebounds, while Claircius and Bates added eight boards each.

Elms returns to conference action when it hosts Mitchell College on Thursday, Jan. 27 at Picknelly Arena. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.