Daniel Webster College Inches Past Women’s Basketball, 54-53 in Overtime

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) scored a game-high 25 points and pulled in a game-best 26 rebounds, but Daniel Webster College erased a five-point overtime deficit as Vanessa Bosques (Windham, Conn.) converted a layup and an ensuing free throw to help lift the Eagles to a thrilling 54-53 victory in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms sees its five-game winning streak snapped and moves to 12-9 on the season, 11-3 in conference action. Daniel Webster extends its win streak to seven games and now stand at 11-10 overall, 11-3 in conference play.

With 3:52 left in regulation, Elms' junior guard Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) drained a three-pointer to give the Blazers a 42-41 advantage before Bosques answered with a trey of her own to set the score 44-42 with 2:40 to play in the game. With a 1:18 on the clock, Parks delivered the game-tying layup and from there, neither team was able to score the game-winning basket as time expired sending the game to an extra frame.

In the five-minute extra period, Parks converted a layup and Donohue added her second strike of the contest from three-point range to give Elms a 49-44 lead with 3:22 to play in the stanza. Daniel Webster responded when Ariel Guzman (Yonkers, N.Y.) powered to the hoop with a layup, followed by a Jennifer Fredericks (Beacon Falls, Conn.) basket underneath following an offensive rebound that pulled the Eagles to within one at 49-48 with 1:55 to play.

With 42 seconds left, Parks swished a pair of foul shots to give Elms a 51-48 edge before a Guzman free throw made it 51-49. Two more Parks' free throws extended the lead to 53-49, and after Bosques returned the favor with two made free throws of her own to set the score at 53-51, she delivered a runner along the baseline and converted the ensuing free throw to lift Daniel Webster to a 54-53 lead with 17 seconds to play.

Elms had one last shot to win the contest, but could not convert as the Eagles sealed a thrilling one-point victory.

Parks, who was spectacular on both ends of the floor, was 8 of 22 from the floor and 9 for 9 from the free throw line in addition to pulling down 26 rebounds – 17 of which came on the defensive side. Parks, in just her second season, is 37 points shy of the 1,000-point milestone for her career.

Sophomore guard Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) hit on 4 of 16 from the field and finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals, while sophomore forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) collected seven points and six boards in the losing effort.

Bosques was the catalyst of the Eagles' attack, swishing 9 of 25 from the field including three three-pointers en route to her 24 points. She also led the squad with 15 rebounds, dished out three assists and added two steals in the winning effort.

Guzman was stellar off the bench converting 6 of 18 from the floor including two treys, Fredericks totaled eight points, and Emily Travis (Somerset, Mass.) was tremendous on the defensive end, pulling down nine rebounds and swatting nine shots.

The Blazers return to NECC action on Thursday, February 7 when they host Bay Path College at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.