Parks Nets 30 to Pace Women’s Basketball Past Anna Maria College, 76-56

PAXTON, Mass. – Elms College sophomore forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) scored a game-high 30 points and hauled in a game-best 16 rebounds to spark the Blazers to a convincing 76-56 win over Anna Maria College in Monday evening's non-conference women's basketball game in Paxton, Mass.

With the win, Elms improves to 1-2 on the season, while Anna Maria slips to 0-3 overall.

Elms was stellar from the floor hitting on 29 of 65 shots (44.6-percent) and converted 11 of 12 from the free throw line including 6 of 7 from Parks.

The Blazers also received a 13-point effort from freshman guard Jenna Oyler (Metuchen, N.J.) who dropped in three treys, and a 10-point output from junior guard Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) who drained a pair from beyond the arc en route to 10 points.

The sides played back-and-forth basketball through the first 14:22 and with the score set at 22-21 in favor of the Blazers, Parks hit a mid-range jumper that started a 17-6 run by Elms to close out the half with the Blazers ahead, 39-27.

Anna Maria opened the second stanza with a steal and a basket by Alison McCarthy (Lynn, Mass.) to pull the AMCATS to within 10, but Elms scored 10 unanswered points on the strength of five each from Parks and junior guard Nicolette Martin (Colchester, Conn.) who capped the stretch with a swish from three-point range to give the Blazers a 49-29 lead.

From there, Elms kept its lead at double digits as Parks netted 11 of her 30 points during the second half, while 10 of Oyler's 13 points came in the second frame.

Martin finished with eight points, while Oyler added six assists to her offensive efforts. Senior guard Jen Normandie (Westford, Mass.) provided stellar support with six points and five assists in the winning effort.

Anna Maria had three players in double figures, led by Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. McCarthy and Chelsea Blair (Holland, Mass.) added 10 each, and Liz Sama (Windsor, Conn.) chipped in eight points off the bench in the loss from the AMCATS.   

Elms returns to non-conference action on Wednesday, November 28 when it hosts Suffolk University at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena in its 2012-13 home opener.