Strong Second Half Lifts Women’s Basketball Past Newbury College, 59-42

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College junior forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points and collected nine rebounds, while junior forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) added 16 points and tied for the game-high in boards with 13 to help lift the Blazers to a 59-42 victory over Newbury College in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms concludes its regular season 16-9 overall, 15-3 in league action. Newbury moves to 5-19, 5-13 in NECC action. Both teams await the NECC Championship tournament seedings which will be announced by the league office in due course.

Elms shot 35.2-percent from the field in the contest (43.3-percent in the second half) and 37.5-percent from three-point range as junior forward Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) canned a pair of treys midway through the second half to bolster the Blazers' offensive effort.

Youngblood finished with 12 points and five rebounds, freshman guard Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) came off the bench to score nine points and dish out three assists, while freshman guard Marissa Merrill (Meredith, N.H.) tallied four assists in reserve.

The Nighthawks were led by a stellar outing from Katie Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) who notched 14 points and tied for the game-high in rebounds with 13. Alex Pezzella (Rockland, Mass.) poured in a team-high 17 points for Newbury, while Katelyn Roeser (Nashua, N.H.) added seven points and amassed a game-best eight assists.

Roeser and Pickett put on a display of defensive skill as Roeser added four blocked shots, while Pickett swatted five shots.

In the opening period, Newbury ran out to a 7-0 lead highlighted by a Roeser trey, and led by as many as nine following a Haney layup at the 10:03 mark to set the score at 15-6. Elms answered with a 15-2 run that was capped by a pair of free throws by Pickett with 13 seconds left in the half to set the score at 21-17 at intermission. Following a Haney bucket underneath with 5:48 to play, the Elms' defense held the Nighthawks scoreless for the duration of the frame.

Pickett, Parks and Burr each finished with six points for the Blazers who shot 25-percent from the floor in the first half, while Haney led Newbury (23.3-percent shooting from the field) with six points and 10 boards in the half.

In the second half, Haney hit a jumper with 18:03 to play in regulation to level the score at 23-23 but the Nighthawks never regained the lead as Elms began to pull away.

A pair of Pickett foul shots lifted Elms' advantage to 31-23 but back-to-back swishes from beyond the arc by Pezzella kept Newbury in contention and set the score to 31-29 with 13:16 on the clock. A 16-2 run capped by a Youngblood layup increased the Blazers' cushion to 47-31 with 6:05 to play.

From there, Elms was able to keep the distance as Pickett made a basket underneath and converted the ensuing free throw to give the Blazers their largest lead of the contest (21) at 56-35 with 3:25 to play.

Elms held a 26-18 advantage in the paint, outscored the Nighthawks 16-10 in points off turnovers, and held a 49-42 edge in rebounding to help seal the 17-point victory.