St. Joseph College (Conn.) Outlasts Women’s Basketball, 76-69

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Elms College senior forward Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn.) scored a team-high 20 points to lead four Blazers in double figure point totals, but St. Joseph College (Conn.) received a game-best 23-point effort from Heather Framski (Prospect, Conn.) to help lift the Blue Jays to a 76-69 victory in Wednesday evening's non-conference women's basketball game in West Hartford, Conn.

With the loss, Elms moves to 5-4 on the season, while St. Joseph improves to 7-2 overall.

In the opening period Elms shot a stellar 38.9-percent from the field, while St. Joseph connected at an impressive 45.2 clip from the field during the first 20 minutes of play.

With the score tied at 26-26 with eight minutes to play in the stanza, the Blue Jays closed out the half on an 18-6 run highlighted by six points each from Brianna Ferraro (Waterbury, Conn.) and Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.), while Claire Consonni (Bristol, Conn.) chipped in five points to help St. Joseph post a 44-32 advantage at halftime.

Out of the break, Murphy nailed a mid-range jump shot at the 19:06 mark to kick-start a 20-8 run by the Blazers over the first 9:29. Murphy scored eight points during the span, senior guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, Mass.) swished a three-pointer, and junior guard Jennifer Normandie (Westford, Mass.) capped the run with a game-tying layup at the 10:31 mark to set the score at 52-52.

A free throw by freshman forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) with 8:27 remaining in the game gave Elms its final lead of the contest as the Blue Jays reclaimed the lead and built as much as a 12-point cushion (69-57 with 2:01 to play). St. Joseph connected on 7 of 8 from the free throw line during the final minute of play to help stave off a late rally by Elms which featured a pair of treys from Talmadge as the Blue Jays held on for a seven-point victory.

Murphy finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six steals, while Parks added a double-double of her own with 12 points, and a game-high 12 boards.

Talmadge followed with 15 points and four assists, while Normandie added 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field off the bench to give the Blazers four players with double-digit point outputs.

Framski led all scorers with 23 points, knocking down 11 of 13 shots from the field, while Mary Hyde (Derby, Conn.) tallied 16 points highlighted by a 5 for 6 effort from the charity stripe.

Ferraro added 10 points, while Framski and Hyde hauled in nine and eight rebounds respectively to lead the Blue Jays' efforts on the glass.  

Elms held a 36-30 scoring advantage in the paint, but St. Joseph turned 22 Blazers' turnovers into 25 points and scored 27 second-chance points as the Blue Jays also held a 45-40 rebounding edge.

Elms returns to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Saturday, Jan. 7 when it travels to Longmeadow, Mass. for a 1:00 p.m. tilt against Bay Path College.