Pickett Nets 23 as Women’s Basketball Soars Past Becker College, 70-49

LEICESTER, Mass. – Elms College sophomore forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) netted 23 points and hauled in 13 rebounds – both game highs, to help pace the Blazers to a convincing 70-49 victory over Becker College in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game.

With the win, Elms improves to 2-4 overall, 1-0 in NECC action, while Becker slips to 0-6 on the season, 0-1 in conference action.

Elms shot 41.5-percent from the floor and hit on 5 of 14 from three-point range to help spark the win. Pickett led the charge connecting on 11 of 15 from the field en route to her game-high 23 points, while sophomore guard Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) sank 3 of 7 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points.

Sophomore forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) added 15 points on 5 of 16 shooting (including 5 of 5 from the line), and snagged eight boards. Freshman guard Jenna Oyler (Metuchen, N.J.) dished out a team-best four assists, while senior guard Jen Normandie (Westford, Mass.) and junior guard Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) handed out three assists each in the winning effort. Normandie chipped in eight points.

After posting a six point advantage (31-25) after the first 20 minutes of action, the Blazers exploded for a 20-3 run over the first 7:57 of the second stanza to set the score at 51-30. During the stretch, Elms was a perfect 7 for 7 from the free throw line including four from Normandie, while Youngblood canned one of her three triples.

A layup by Becker's Tarisha Renaud (Worcester, Mass.) halted the run with a layup at the 12:03 mark, but junior guard Nicolette Martin (Colchester, Conn.) swished a trey to keep the Hawks from starting a comeback.

Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass.) scored 11 of her team-high 16 points in the second half, and Haley Ooms (Valatie, N.Y.) registered half her total output of 14 in the second stanza, but Elms poured in 39 in the frame to complete the victory.

Chelsea Joubert (Westborough, Mass.) and Ooms dished out five assists and Joubert scored six points, while Gabrielle Gallo (Northport, N.Y.) added six points for the Hawks in the losing effort.

Becker was 35.2-percent shooting from the field and 7 of 9 from the charity stripe, highlighted by Ooms' four makes.

Elms returns to NECC action when it hosts Regis College in its league home opener on Saturday, December 8 at 2:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.