Johnston Leads Blazers Past Lasers

Chicopee, MA – The Elms College women's basketball team defeated the vising Lasers of Lasell University on Thursday night at Picknelly Arena.

THE BASICS:

SCORE: Elms 69, Lasell 67

RECORDS: Elms (8-7, 5-7 GNAC), Lasell (7-10, 5-6 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Elms raced out to a 17-3 lead on a 3-point shot by Rahmia Johnston (Trumbull, CT) with 2:43 remaining in the first. A Lasers jumper with eight seconds on the clock cut the Blazers' advantage to 21-9 at the end of one.

A 7-0 run brought the visitors to within six at 27-21 with 3:51 left in the second.  Elms built its cushion to 38-25 with two free throws by Sarah Evangelista (West Haven, CT) with two seconds left in the half.

Lasell won the third, 18-13, and cut the deficit to single digits heading into the fourth, trimming the Blazers' lead to 51-43.

A three-ball by Johnston extended the hosts' lead to 60-49 with 6:38 left in regulation. Lasell managed 24 fourth-quarter points, evening the game at 64-64 on a jumper with 2:15 remaining. The home side would not be denied, three points by Evangelista and two by Johnston in the final 1:26 clinched the two-point victory for the Blazers.

 NSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Johnston had a game high in points and rebounds going 24 and 12
- Evangelista had 9 points off the bench

FROM THE DESK OF COACH PROULX: "I am so proud of our effort last night against a dynamic Lasell squad. We started off really strong, were able to battle back from some foul trouble and make some key free throws at the end of the game. It was a big win for our program moving forward into the final weeks of the regular season."

UP NEXT:

Elms will travel to Lasell on Monday 2/7 at 7PM for the second game in a home and home with the Lasers.

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