CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College freshman forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) netted 21 points and hauled in 18 rebounds to help lift the Blazers to a 72-61 victory over Bay Path College in Thursday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.
With the win, Elms improves to 10-5 on the season, 7-1 in league play, while Bay Path falls to 2-9 overall, 2-5 in NECC action.
In the opening 20 minutes, Parks connected on 5 of 8 shooting from field and hauled in 10 rebounds to post a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in the first period.
The Blazers, who shot 40.5-percent as a team from the floor in the first frame, received an eight-point effort from junior guard Jennifer Normandie (Westford, Mass.), while sophomore guard Emily Boucher (Ashburnham, Mass.) collected seven points of f the bench to help give Elms a 38-26 lead at intermission.
Sophomore guard Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) and senior guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, Mass.) controlled the Blazers' backcourt combining for nine of the team's 11 first-half assists and the pair recorded three steals.
Bay Path's Kayla Skiffington (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Je'Quana Orr (East Hartford, Conn.) scored nine points each for the Wildcats in the first stanza, while Skiffington pulled down seven rebounds.
In the second half, Bay Path narrowed its deficit to five points but could get no closer as Elms built its largest lead of the game (15 points with 1:30 remaining) to help seal a 72-61 victory and record its 23rd consecutive win over the Wildcats.
As a team, Elms shot 43.1-percent for the game and outscored Bay Path 40-32 in the paint. The Wildcats were better from the field in the second period shooting 42.9-percent in the final 20 minutes to finish with a 36.6 clip for the contest. The Blazers' bench also outscored Bay Path's reserves, 23-8.
Parks finished with a tie for the game high in points (21), and tied for the game best in rebounds with 18, while Normandie and senior forward Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn.) provided 12 points apiece.
Boucher finished with nine points in 17 minutes off the bench, while Talmadge and Donohue added eight and seven points respectively.
Skiffington totaled a tie for the game high in points with 21 and added a tie for the game best in rebounds with 18, while Orr and Nicole Delano (Enfield, Conn.) finished with 13 points each in the losing effort.
Elms is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 21 when it travels to Daniel Webster College for a 3:00 p.m. NECC showdown in Nashua, N.H.