Western New England Downs Women's Basketball

Kaleigh Anderson (@KaleighAnd1)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's basketball fell in a non-conference tilt against the visiting Western New England Golden Bears, 74-40, at Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Blazers drop to 4-4 overall, while the Golden Bears rise to 7-2 on the season.

The first quarter focused on consistent runs off the hands of both squads with the Blazers lighting up the scoreboard first as junior Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) went two-for-two at the stripe. Western New England responded with their first three of many fired off by senior Sammie Battani (Leominster, Mass.). At the 8:31 mark, Elms once again flourished at the charity stripe with senior Emily Burr netting back-to-back free throws to give Elms the advantage. Despite Blazer efforts the Golden Bears continued on a 12-2 run with senior Paige Young (Berlin, Conn.) posting five points throughout the stint to give Western New England a 15-6 lead. Elms would close out the scoring efforts in the first with sophomore Kayla Aberdale (Housatonic, Mass.) posting the first Elms three of the contest with 13 seconds remaining to create a 19-11 scoreboard in favor of the Golden Bears.

The second saw a Golden Bear push as Western New England scored the first eight tallies of the quarter keeping the Blazers at bay until the 5:17 mark where senior Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.)  took advantage of the stripe netting two for the Blazers. From there, the Golden Bears would head on a ten point run focusing on a junior Dorothy O'Neil (Staten Island, N.Y.) three point blast from the outside to give Western New England a 37-13 lead. Elms got back in the scoring column at 1:03 when sophomore Nakia Mabin (Bridgeport, Conn.) went two-for-two at the line. Mabin would continue on the scoring route for the Blazers, finding the backboard for two with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter. LaRochelle followed with a free throw to send Elms into the locker room facing a 39-18 setback.

Senior Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) began the third with a layup for Western New England, while the Blazers responded with a pair of LaRochelle tallies from the charity stripe. After a minute of scoreless action Anderson netted a pair at the stripe followed by a three point stinger to lengthen the Golden Bears lead. Mabin would find the glass for the Blazers after snagging her own offensive rebound from the inside to keep hope alive, however Western New England kept pushing as they netted 11 more points in the quarter to capture a 57-28 lead.

In the final quarter of play, Elms freshman Molly Moulton (North Adams, Mass.) started off hot for Elms grabbing a pair at the line. O'Neil responded with another Golden Bear three-pointer, followed by a freshmen Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) jumper from the outside. Despite LaRochelle producing four points for the Blazers, the Golden Bears remained in control as they captured five points from the stripe within the last four minutes of play to post a 74-40 scoreboard.

Mabin headed the Blazers attack with 10 points alongside six rebounds in the effort. LaRochelle snagged 9 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for the Blazers. Marques tallied six points and six rebounds on the afternoon.

Anderson scored a game-high 15 points for Western New England with seven rebounds and two assists. O'Neil totaled 11 points on the day going 3-for-3 in three point range.

Elms connected on 19.7% (12-61) from the floor and 78.9% (15-19) from the foul line. The Golden Bears shot 46.3% (25-54) from the field and 50.0% (6-12) from the free throw stripe.

The Blazers will be back on the court Wednesday January 4^th versus St. Joseph (Conn.) for a 6 p.m. start time. The Golden Bears will play host to University of New England Tuesday January 3^rd, for a 5:30 p.m. start time.

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