Women's Basketball Cruises To Road Win At Southern Vermont

BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Elms College women's basketball team returned to the win column with a 68-48 victory over host Southern Vermont College in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) battle at the Mountaineer Athletic Center Tuesday night.

The visiting Blazers outscored SVC by 11 in the opening quarter to open up a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night. EC brought a 39-21 upper hand into the locker room and maintained its comfortable separation through the final 20 minutes.

The Mountaineers (1-21, 1-16 NECC) are right back in action on Wednesdaywhen they host Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts for a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup, and Elms (14-9, 12-4 NECC) is next in action on Thursday when the Blazers visit Wheelock College for an 8:30 p.m. NECC tilt.

Southern Vermont freshman Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) led her team in scoring with a season-best 15 points while adding seven rebounds and a pair of assists to her line. Sophomore captain Kayla Emmi (Syracuse, N.Y.) came off the bench to record eight points and five boards, and freshman Kelley Dobbert (Stamford, Vt.) had four points while tying the team-high of eight rebounds. Fellow freshman Sarah Poirier (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) notched another eight boards in addition to five points in reserve time.

A pair of Blazers tallied double-doubles with sophomore Chaniah Pantry (New Haven, Conn.) registering a game-best 16 points and 12 rebounds while senior Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.) scored 15 points and grabbed a night-high 16 caroms. Freshman Samantha Lynes (Berlin, Conn.) came off the bench to score 11 points in 16 minutes, and senior captain Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) provided nine points, four assists and three rebounds in the win.

Elms shot 35.1 percent (27-77) from the floor while the Mountaineers connected on 25 percent (15-60) of their attempts from field goal range. EC used a slew of missed put-backs to tally a big 63-43 advantage on the glass, and the Blazers outscored SVC 42-20 in the paint.

Mallett put down a pretty hook shot from the middle of the key for the opening basket of the game, and four-straight points from senior captain Amber Dow (Panton, Vt.) helped her team take an early 6-2 edge. The Blazers stormed back, however, as they finished the first quarter with 15 unanswered points to claim the upper hand. EC freshman Molly Moulton (North Adams, Mass.) started the surge with a short-range jumper off the glass, and Marques added six straight of her own down the stretch.

SVC trimmed its deficit back to single digits with a Mallett layup in the onset of the second— only to see Elms use a pair of downtown buckets to push the difference up to 17; Lynes nailed a triple from the right corner for the second of those threes off a pass from Burr. Southern Vermont went on a quick 7-2 spurt with a Lesure trey from the right edge of the arc, but Elms answered with seven-consecutive points off of Pantry's hand; she capped that streak with a bank shot from the top of the key as the Blazers went in front by 18 at the end of the half.

Southern Vermont couldn't chip away during the third quarter with EC continuing its offensive success— Lynes hitting her second three-pointer of the game to put the visitors ahead 54-27. The Mountaineers outscored their opponent by seven through the final 10 minutes, but it would not be enough for a comeback as the Blazer cushion was too large to overcome.

Source: (Southern Vermont Athletics)