Women’s Basketball Upends Newbury College, 71-57

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) poured in a game-high 23 points and totaled a team-high 11 rebounds as the Blazers notched a 71-57 victory over Newbury College in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball.

With the win, Elms improves to 6-7 overall, 5-1 in conference play, while Newbury falls to 6-7 on the season, 4-2 in NECC action.

The Blazers won their fourth straight game on the strength of a 23-point, 11-rebound effort from Parks and Elms shot 43.5-percent from the floor as a team.

Sophomore forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) scored in double figures with 12 points in addition to grabbing seven boards, while sophomore guard Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) and junior guard Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) contributed nine and eight points respectively.

Parks added four assists, and Donohue, Youngblood and freshman guard Jenna Oyler (Metuchen, N.J.) dished out four assists apiece in the winning effort.

Leading 39-30 at halftime, Elms continued to pull away from the Nighthawks as Youngblood canned a three-pointer to start the stanza to stake a 12-point lead. The Blazers held its advantage at no less than eight points and led by as many as 21 (64-43) when Donohue struck from three-point range with 8:12 left in the contest.

Newbury's Catherine O'Connell (Quincy, Mass.) led the Nighthawks in defeat with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Elyse O'Connell (Quincy, Mass.) notched 16 points and six boards.

Alex Pezzella (Rockland, Mass.) chipped in nine of Newbury's 11 points off the bench and Katelyn Roeser (Nashua, N.H.) finished with eight points in the loss.

Newbury shot 38.3-percent from the field but just 47.1-percent from the free throw line.

Elms returns to conference action on Thursday, January 17 when it hosts Becker College at 5:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.