Women's Basketball Clips Lynx, 71-50

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -  The Elms College women's basketball team continued their roll through the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) with a 71-50 victory over host Lesley University Wednesday night at the Nicholas Athletic Center.

The squads exchanged the lead four times in the opening minutes with a jumper from Elms senior forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) giving the Blazers a 9-8 lead with 13:58 remaining in the half. Elms pushed its lead to 15-8, but the Lynx would battle back to cut their deficit to one possessio, 15-12, at the 9:59 mark. Leading 17-15 with 8:32 on the clock, the Blazers began to build a cushion behind a 21-4 run to close the first half, fueled by eight points from Parks, to take a 38-19 lead into halftime. 

The Blazers continued their offensive momentum in the second half, and a layup from Elms senior forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) capped off an 8-4 run by Elms to open the period. The Lynx chipped away at their deficit by outscoring the Blazers, 12-11, over the next five minutes to make it a 57-35 game. Elms put the game away with a 14 points in the final 10 minutes, featuring nine points from sophomore guard Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) to secure the 71-50 win.

The Blazers had four players with doube-digit point totals. Parks provided a double-double, logging her ninth 20-point effort with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Burr netted a season-high 17 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field, with four rebounds and four steals. Pickett tallied 11 points with six rebounds and six steals, while junior guard Mariah Brown (Windsor Locks, Conn.) added 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win. 

The Lynx were led by junior guard Jackie Ewing (Hong Kong, HK) with a team-high 16 points. Senior center Grace Amato (Sharon, Vt.) chipped in 16 points with seven rebounds. Freshman forward Kerry Flaherty (Woburn, Mass.) had nine points and six rebounds, while senior forward Athena Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Blazers edged the Lynx in rebounding, 41-38, during the contest. Elms converted 39.7% (27-of-68) of their field goals attempts, including 20% (2-of-10) from three-point, and 68.2% (15-of-22) from the free throw line. Lesley shot 34.7% (17-of-49) from the floor, 50% (2-of-4) from three-point range, and 87.5% (14-of-16) from the foul line.

The Blazers improved to 8-5 on the season, and remain unblemished in NECC play at 6-0, while Lesley drops to 1-11 overall, and 1-4 in the NECC. Elms returns to the court in a road trip to Regis College Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Lesley travels to Mitchell Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 p.m. tip.

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