Blazers Strike Down Blue Jays

Chicopee, MA – The Elms College women's basketball team started the new year strong with a GNAC win against visiting University of Saint Joseph's earlier this evening, ending 64-60.  

THE BASICS:

SCORE: Elms 64, USJ 60

RECORDS: Elms (6-4, 3-4 GNAC), University of Saint Joseph (6-6, 2-3 GNAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph took a 17-11 lead after the first quarter. Abigayl Sherbourne and Rahmia Johnston led in points tallying 4 each with Aiyanalee Lopez trailing right behind with her 3.

The second quarter was the key period for the Blazers, who came out on fire as six different players combined for 23 points, outscoring USJ 23-9. An 11-1 run, capped by a layup from Aiyanalee Lopez (Leominster, Mass.), gave the Blazers a 22-18 lead midway through. Elms doubled their advantage with consistent play to go into the half up eight, 34-26.

The Blue Jays attempted to get the lead back, cutting the gap to three, 48-45, with 2:22 remaining in the third period. USJ cut the lead to three several times in the fourth, and even got within two, but the Blazers held their ground. Forward, Angelica Peguero-Flores (Springfield, MA) got the ball in good position and made it a two-possession game with only seconds left. Elms iced it with late-game free throws from Lopez to take a 64-60 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Lopez finished with a game-high 17 points for the Blazers to go along with 10 rebounds
• Peguero-Flores added 16 points and eight boards on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor

FROM THE DESK OF COACH PROULX:

"After 30 days of no games and a COVID shut down, I am so proud of our energy and effort tonight. Aiyana stepped up huge on the offensive and defensive end with her double double tonight. Her energy on the boards, along with our post players, really helped us to stay in the game until our offense started clicking. I'm so proud of how we withstood their runs during the second half and made big shot after big shot and made some key stops at the end of the game. We definitely have a next man up mentality right now and are playing like it with so many different people stepping up on the offensive and defensive end."

UP NEXT:

The Blazers are back in Picknelly Arena hosting Albertus Magnus College for a 7PM start time on Tuesday, 1/18.

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