Women’s Basketball Edged by Regis College, 66-60

WESTON, Mass. – Elms College junior forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) netted a team-best 17 points but Regis College used an 18-point effort from Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) to help the Pride edge the Blazers, 66-60 in Thursday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at Higgins Court in Weston, Mass.

With the loss, Elms moves to 5-7 overall, 4-1 in NECC action, while Regis improves to 8-4 overall, 5-0 in conference play.

Trailing 32-31 at intermission, Elms scored the first seven points and 11 of the first 15 points capped by a pair of Parks free throws to set the score at 42-36 in favor of the Blazers with 11:50 to play in the game.

Regis answered with a 7-0 run of its own highlighted by a layup by Marro to give the Pride a 43-42 edge with 8:55 on the clock.

With just over two minutes to play in regulation, Elms' junior forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) swished a pair of free throws to give the Blazers a narrow 58-57 lead. Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) responded with two made free throws and then canned a three-pointer with 34 seconds left to give the Pride a 62-58 advantage. Parks added a layup with four ticks on the clock, but four made foul shots by Marro in the final 15 seconds helped Regis complete its 66-60 victory.

Elms shot 38-percent from the floor led by Parks' 17-point effort, while junior forward Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) added 11 points on the strength of a trio of three-pointers. Pickett finished with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Parks and Youngblood finished with nine and eight rebounds respectively, while freshmen guard Marissa Merrill (Meredith, N.H.) and Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) added seven points each.

Regis was led by Marro's 18 points, while Bradley totaled 15 points. Alyssa Vieira-Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) chipped in 11 points off the bench. Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) added 10 points to give the Pride four players in double figures. Hawkesworth also led Regis in rebounds with nine.

Elms returns to NECC action on Saturday, January 11 against Lesley University at 5:30 p.m. in Boston, Mass.