NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's basketball team dropped its New England Collegiate Conference opener to Elms College, 69-58, on Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Denisha Parks led all scorers with 29 points to fuel the Blazers (4-2 overall, 1-0 NECC). She shot 8-for-13 from the floor and 13-for-15 from the free throw line while also adding eight rebounds. Erika Murphy finished with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while Emily Boucher chipped in with 10 points.

Junior Kaylee Cerruto paced the Mariners (1-6 overall, 0-1 NECC) with 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting. Freshman Sheanna James and senior Bianca Young also finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Mitchell led by as many as seven points in the first half but saw the margin fade away in the final 8:51 of the stanza. Elms scored the final six points of the half to tie the game at 29-29 heading into the locker room at intermission. Parks led all scorers with 14 points at the break.

Elms took control in the second half behind a 7-0 run that left it with a 44-36 lead with 13:25 remaining in the contest. Jen Normandie scored a pair of buckets during the stretch while Parks contributed a layup and three free throws. The Blazers never trailed again and pumped the lead to as many as 16 points with 5:23 to go.

Normandie finished with nine points and nine rebounds as the Blazers held a 49-36 edge on the glass. Elms shot 38 percent from the floor and held Mitchell to a 33-percent clip.

Mitchell will next play at Southern Vermont College on Saturday, December 10 at 1 p.m.