Women's Basketball Cruises at Mitchell

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Elms College women's basketball continued their early roll through the New England Collegiate Conference with a 65-48 win over host Mitchell College Saturday afternoon at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The squads traded the lead in the opening minutes of the first half with a three-point play from senior forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) giving Elms a 5-4, but a layup from junior guard Diamond Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) put Mitchell up 10-7 with 12:23 remaining. Trailing 12-9 with 11:28 on the clock, the Blazers orchestrated a 14-0 run, fueled by eight points from junior guard Maira Pantoja (East Windsor, Conn.), over a seven-minute to capture a 23-12 advatage over Mitchell. The Mariners outscored Elms, 10-7, over the final four minutes, putting the Blazers lead at 30-22 heading into halftime.

A three-point play from Thomas to open the second half cut the Mariners deficit to it's slimest margin of the half, 30-25. Elms built their lead back to up to double digits with a 7-0 run. The Blazers maintained a double-digit lead for a majority of the half, and a three-point play from Elms senior forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) at the 3:25 mark gave the Blazers their largest lead of the contest, 61-40. Mitchell edged Elms, 8-4, in the final minutes as the Blazers crusied to the 65-48 conference win.

Elms had nine players record points in the win, led by Pantoja with 19 points off the bench for the Blazers. Pantoja connected on a perfect 7-of-7 field goal attempts, including a pair of three-pointers, with four rebounds. Pickett registered a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Parks added 11 points, five rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Mariah Brown (Windsor Locks, Conn.) dished out a game-high six assists with nine rebounds, three points, and two steals.

Mitchell was paced by junior forward Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn.) with team-high in points (16) and rebounds (9). Thomas tallied 13 points and three boards, while senior forward Dazjavia Williams (Waterbury, Conn.) chipped in seven points in the loss.

The Blazers edged the Mariners in rebounding, 41-38, during the contest. Elms shot 35.7% (20-of-56) from the field, 22.2% (2-of-9) from three-point range, and 71.9% (23-of-32) from the foul line. Mitchell was 31.9% (15-of-47) from the floor, including 0-for-4 on three-pointers, and 64.3% (18-of-28) from the free throw stripe.

With the win, Elms improves to 3-4 on the season, and 3-0 in NECC play, while Mitchell falls to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the NECC. The Blazers will return to action next Saturday at Bard with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off. The Mariners host Nichols College Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.

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