Women's Basketball Topples Becker

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

LEICESTER, Mass. – The Elms College women's basketball team completed their season sweep against Becker, defeating the host Hawks, 75-62, in a New England Collegiate Conference tilt at Leicester Gymnasium Thursday night.

The squads exchanged the lead over the opening minutes of play, and a free throw from senior guard Brooke Martel (Griswold, Conn.) gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game, 12-9, at the 14:44 mark. The Blazers regained the lead for good on back-to-back layups from sophomore forward Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.) and senior forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.), to grab a 13-12 advantage. A jumper from freshman guard Mackenzie Larochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) capped off an 8-3 run for Elms, building their cushion to 21-15. The Hawks chipped the Blazers lead to one possession, 28-25, on a jumper from freshman guard Alycia Dery (Millville, Mass.) with 3:27 left in the half. Elms took a 36-32 advantage into halftime.

The Blazers used a 6-0 run to open the second half, extending their lead into double digits, 42-32. Elms offensive kicked into gear with an 11-3 run over the next seven minutes, and a layup from Marques gave Elms its largest lead of the contest, 53-37. The Hawks cut their deficit to ten points twice in the second half, but a stout Blazers defense prevented Becker rallying, en route to the 75-62 win.

Senior forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) led Elms with a team-high 21 points with eight rebounds. Pickett tallied 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while Larochelle added 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists in her first career start. Marques chipped in 13 points and six rebounds off the bench, and junior guard Mariah Brown (Windsor Locks, Conn.) dished out five assists in the win.

Martel poured in a game-high 29 points for the Hawks. Dery notched 16 points with a game-high six assists, and junior forward Gabrielle Gallo (Northport, N.Y.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds with 11 points.

The Blazers outrebounded the Hawks, 32-29, and controlled points in the paint, 34-22, during the contest. Elms connected on 49.2% (29-of-59) from the field, including 42.9% (3-of-7) from three-point range, and 70% (14-of-20) from the foul line. Becker shot 47.9% (23-of-48) from the floor, and 78.9% (15-of-19) from the free throw stripe.

With the win, the Blazers improve to 13-6 in the standings, and 11-1 in NECC play. Becker drops to 0-18, and 0-9 in the NECC. Elms looks to continue their winning ways when they travel to Wheelock for a 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Becker visit Lesley University for a 2:00 p.m. tip Saturday.

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