Women's Basketball Falls At Mitchell

Kaleigh Anderson (@KaleighAnd1)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's basketball fell to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) rival Mitchell College, 84-69, in a conference tilt at the Yarnall Athletic Center Saturday. With the loss, the Blazers drop to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while the Mariners rise to 2-1 in the NECC.

The Blazers started off the scoring efforts in the first with sophomore Nakia Mabin (Bridgeport, Conn.) landing her first jumper of the contest at the 9:40 time slot to give Elms the early momentum. Mitchell sophomore Francesca Pinard (Arlington, Mass.) would respond for the Mariners producing a nice touch off the glass to even the tides. Mabin would continue to activate for the Blazers netting her second jumper of the quarter along with a tally at the charity stripe to give Elms the 5-2 advantage. Not short after Pinard would go 2-for-2 at the line to keep the back and forth style of play booming.  Starting at 4:01 Elms would embark on a 10-5 run headed by senior Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.) and Mabin with four points apiece to send Elms into the second owing a 17-13 score.

The second saw a surge of energy off the Mitchell bench as junior Lehayla Cruz (Bridgeport, Conn.) rang in her first three of the afternoon 14 seconds in to keep the contest within one. From there, Mitchell would go on a 13-2 stint off the hands of senior Jessica Shepard (West Hartford, Conn.) and Pinard as they each went 2-for-2 in the paint to give Mitchell a 26-19 lead. Marques would answer for the Blazers capturing a layup as well as a shot from the stripe to keep hope alive and well. Nevertheless, the Blazers would head into the locker room trailing Mitchell 35-27 as Pinard tallied 10 points in the quarter to aid in the advantage for Mitchell.

The third saw back-to-back runs from both squads as Mabin shot first for the blazers securing two at the line followed by a freshman Molly Moulton (North Adams, Mass.) layup to shorten the Mariner gap. Elms continued on a six-point run before a Shepard jumper found it's home off the backboard. The Blazers managed to net 14 points in the quarter with junior Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) leading the squad with six, four coming from the charity stripe.

Tensions were high at the start of the fourth with the Blazers trailing by 14. Junior Janelle Rice (Meridan, Conn.) struck first for Mitchell sending a basket in off the glass. Elms senior Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) would tally the first Elms basket from the line at the 8:23 time slot to which Marques followed with a layup and tally from the stripe of her own. Mabin and LaRochelle dished out back-to-back jump shots starting at the 7:00 mark to bring Elms within 11. Freshman Camille Staggers (New Haven, Conn.) responded with two layups of her own for Mitchell to once again widen the gap. Despite Blazer efforts Mitchell continued to lengthen their lead as Pinard scored a game high 20 points throughout the contest sending Mitchell into the locker room owning an 80-63 scoreboard.

Mabin proved to be the backbone behind the Blazers attack as she secured a career-high 16 points and was just shy of a double-double with eight rebounds. LaRochelle snagged 14 points and was also just shy of a second consecutive double–double with eight rebounds on the afternoon. Marques tallied 12 points in the effort along with nine rebounds.

Pinard scored a game high 20 points for Mitchell securing a double-double with 12 rebounds. Staggers totaled 14 points in the victory going 5-for-8 from the floor.

The Blazers controlled the rebound column, 41-40, during the contest. Elms connected on 37.5% (21-of-56) from the floor and 77.8% (21-27) from the foul line. Mitchell shot 48.4% (30-62) from the field and 47.1% (16-34) from the free throw stripe.

The Blazers will be back on the court with a non- conference tilt at home versus Western New England December 10^th for a 1 p.m. start. Mitchell will host Western Connecticut State Tuesday, December 6^th for a 7.p.m tip.

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