NEW LONDON, Conn. – Elms College freshman forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) scored a game-high and collegiate career-best 29 points to propel the Blazers to a 69-58 victory over Mitchell College in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game in New London, Conn.

Elms earns its third straight victory to improve to 4-2 overall, 1-0 in league action, while Mitchell drops to 1-6 on the season, 0-1 in NECC play.

Trailing 44-36 with 12:13 to play in the game, Mitchell's Kaylee Cerruto (Torrington, Conn.) sank a three-pointer and Sheanna James (Waterbury, Conn.) followed with a fast-break layup to pull the Mariners to within three at 44-41 with 11:54 remaining in the contest.

Elms' senior guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, Mass.) answered the surge with a swish from beyond the arc as the Blazers used a 15-5 run over the next 4:12 to post a 59-46 lead. Parks delivered a basket in the paint and was 4 for 4 from the line during the run, while senior forward Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn.), sophomore guard Emily Boucher (Ashburnham, Mass.) and junior guard Jennifer Normandie (Westford, Mass.) each chipped in two points to help Elms to its 13-point cushion.

Elms extended its lead to as many as 16 (64-48 with 5:23 remaining) on the strength of a three-pointer by sophomore guard Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) before Mitchell began its final comeback efforts.

Trailing 65-51 with 3:49 to play, Cerruto downed back-to-back triples and Cora Harris (Jersey City, N.J.) netted the front end of a pair of foul shots to pull the Mariners to within seven at 65-58. However, Mitchell could get no closer as Boucher and Normandie each converted a pair of free throws to set the score at 69-58 and complete the hard-fought victory.

Three Elms starters finished with double-digit point outputs led by Parks' 29. Murphy and Boucher followed with 12 and 10 respectively, while Normandie contributed nine off the bench.

The first 20 minutes featured three ties and four lead changes with neither side owning more than a seven point advantage.

The Mariners mounted a 29-23 lead with 3:33 on the clock in the opening period before Elms scored six unanswered points to knot the game at 29-29 at intermission. Murphy was a perfect 4 for 4 from the stripe during the run, while Parks was 2 for 4 from the line en route to evening the contest at halftime.

Elms was a stellar 25 of 33 from the free throw line (75.8-percent) including a 13 for 15 effort by Parks, while the Mariners converted 10 of 17 foul shots.

Murphy finished with a game-high 13 rebounds, while Normandie and Parks added nine and eight respectively. Talmadage added six assists in the winning effort.

Cerruto connected for four three-pointers and scored a team-best 19 points, James added 13 points and Bianca Young (Bridgeport, Conn.) finished with 11 points, while the Mariners' bench scored just seven points.

Elms returns to NECC action at Lesley University on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:00 p.m.