Women's Basketball Rises Past Southern Vermont

Kaleigh Anderson (@KaleighAnd1)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – - The Elms College women's basketball team fought their way to victory Tuesday evening, defeating Southern Vermont, 90-76, in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action. With the win the Blazers rise to 12-11 on the season and 11-5 in the conference, while the Mountaineers fall to 11-13 overall and 8-9 in the NECC.

The Blazers fired early in the first collecting their first two of the night eight seconds into the contest to set the tone for what would become a fast paced race to the final buzzer. The Mountaineers responded with an Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) three to light up the scoreboard followed by a Flagg jumper to give Southern Vermont their first and only lead of the night. From there the Elms squad would put up a six point run with baskets from JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.), Heather Bailey (Williamstown, VT.), and Mariah Brown (Windsor Locks, Conn.) to take back the advantage. A missed Marques layup would allow Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) an offensive rebound and put back to gain Elms an 11-8 score with 3:50 left to play in the first. As Flagg attempted to spark the Mountaineer offense a Pickett steal propelled the Blazers attack as Kayla Abderdale (Housatonic, Mass.) sunk her first deep three of the evening. An Ashley Boise (New Haven, VT.) foul would send Alex Marques (Newington, Conn.) to the line to secure the easy two from the stripe, followed by back to back layups for both teams off the hands of Flagg and Aberdale. The Blazers would maintain their steadfast momentum throughout the remainder of the quarter ultimately heading into the second owning a 24-17 scoreboard.

As the second got underway both teams lost chances off of missed opportunities as the first two minutes continued scoreless. However Marques was able to strike first securing a layup at the 7:55 tally which started a seven point stint for Elms, which included an Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) three to propel Elms to a 31-17 score. Turquoia Johnson (Rockville, Md.) rallied for the Mountaineers collecting two, only to be followed by a Marques layup down the stretch. Back and forth play continued as Johnson produced back to back doubles for the Mountaineer squad. Starting at the 3:27 mark LaRochelle collected an easy two for Elms followed by a Pickett jumper to up the Blazers lead to 39-24 with 2:40 remaining in the half. Within the last minute and a half of the quarter the Mountaineer squad would collect six tallies at the charity stripe off of three Blazer fouls, however Elms would head into the locker holding a 40-30 advantage.

The Blazers started off the third with Marques securing an offensive rebound to obtain a put back to keep the Elms lead alive and well. Kala Mackenzie (Fair Haven, VT.) would answer with a layup of her own for the Mountaineers in an attempt to close out the deficit. From there the Blazers would go on a 7-to-2 stint led by Burr securing her second three of the night. An Aberdale foul placed Johnson at the charity stripe to pick up two for the Mountaineers, to which Aberdale would follow with a three of her own creating a 52-36 scoreboard. The Blazer squad would continue on to gain their largest lead of the night owning a 59-40 mark off of a Burr layup followed by an extra at the stripe with 3:07 remaining in the quarter. Flagg would then post at the line as well after a Burr foul enabled her to collect two. The Blazers were able to keep up their momentum as the third played on to head into the fourth with a 63-50 tally despite Marissa Myers (Chatham, N.Y.) knocking down a three point bullet with 35 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Tensions were high as the fourth ensued with Brown picking up an early jumper to get the ball rolling at the 8:33 marker. From there Brown would pick off a Flagg dribble to draw the foul that would put her at the line to snatch one. Momentum sprung from both sides as back to back baskets followed with LaRochelle and Johnson each finding the backboard for two. A Flagg steal put Southern Vermont on the board once again in an effort to close out their 68-57 deficit. At the 6:12 tally Marques posted another double for the Elms squad which was followed by two Bailey tallies at the charity stripe to post a 72-58 mark. The Mountaineers did not give up however as Johnson rallied down the court to collect a four point run of her own off of two boards to bring Southern Vermont within 11. With 2:58 remaining in the contest the Mountaineers hit a deep three off of the hands of Myers to produce a 75-67 scoreboard. However Elms continued to control the ball and play to their own rhythm as they sustained their lead and produced big numbers with LaRochelle going 5-for-8 from the field. Despite the Mountaineers attempted comeback Elms nursed their lead to the final buzzer to end on a 90-76 note.

The Blazers were paced by Burr totaling a team high 23 points going 7-for-9 on the floor while collecting six rebounds. LaRochelle was one shy of a double – double totaling 15 points off the bench and 9 rebounds for Elms. 

The Mountaineers were paced by Johnson tallying a game high 27 points and 9 rebounds. Flagg secured 18 for Southern Vermont in the effort.

The Blazers totaled 37.5 % from the field (27-72), including 26.3% from the three-point line (5-19), and 70.8% from the foul line (17-24). The Mountaineers shot 47.5% from the floor (28-59), 40.0% from three point range (4-10), and 76.9% from the foul line (30-39).

The Blazers will host Wheelock Thursday, February 18^th at 7:00 p.m. The Mountaineers will play host to Regis February 20^th   for a 1:00p.m start. 

ELMS BASKETBALL