CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College junior forward Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn.) poured in a team-high 23 points and added a game-best 19 boards to help propel the Blazers to an 84-68 victory over Southern Vermont College in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 8-13 on the season, 6-6 in NECC action, while Southern Vermont moves to 6-14 overall, 4-8 in NECC play.

After falling behind 11-10 in the first 5:41, Elms scored 11 of the next 14 points, highlighted by four points apiece from Murphy and junior guard Katie Condon (Sandy Hook, Conn.), and three free throws from sophomore guard Jen Normandie (Westford, Mass.) to post a 21-14 lead with 7:13 to play in the opening half.

Rita Hall (Temple Hill, Md.) and Christie Henry (Essex, Vt.) answered with buckets to pull Southern Vermont back to within three at 21-18 with 5:47 to play, but the Blazers used a 16-4 run to close out the frame capped by a mid-range jumper from freshman forward Nicolette Martin (Colchester, Conn.) with 38 seconds remaining to give Elms a 37-22 lead at halftime.

Elms opened up the second half on an 8-3 run as freshman guard Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) swished a 10-footer, while Murphy and freshman guard Emily Boucher (Ashburnham, Mass.) added layups to give the Blazers a 45-25 advantage at the 17:16 mark.

A swish from beyond the arc at the 8:09 mark by Martin gave Elms a commanding 26-point 66-40 lead before the Mountaineers began to chip away at the Blazers' cushion.

Following a trey by Elms' freshman guard Erin Broughton (Essex Junction, Vt.) to set the score at 76-60 with 1:32 to play, Southern Vermont's Joa Claircius (Cleremont, Fla.) sank back-to-back triples pull the Mountaineers to within 10 with 58 seconds remaining. Elms responded with a Broughton layup, and Martin and Broughton then capitalized at the free throw line, each hitting a pair, to extend the Blazers' lead back to 16 with 21 seconds on the clock and held on for an 84-68 win.

Murphy was sensational in the win, connection on 7 of 12 from the floor and 9 of 9 from the stripe, while hauling in 19 boards, dishing out a team-high four assists and blocking two shots.

Condon added 16 points, highlighted by a 12 for 14 effort from the foul line, while Martin finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Donohue contributed 11 points, while Nromandie and Broughton finished with seven each.

Claircius provided the offensive burst for the Mountaineers, scoring a game-best 28 in defeat. Abby Riedel (New Boston, N.H.) added 11 points off the bench while Rita Hall netted eight points and a team-high eight rebounds in the losing effort.

Elms returns to NECC action on Thursday, Feb. 10 when it travels to Mitchell College for a 7:00 p.m. contest with against the Mariners.