NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's basketball team rallied back against Elms College on Thursday evening but fell just short, 54-53, in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
The Mariners (1-9 overall, 1-3 NECC) trailed for most of the contest but had a chance for the win in the closing seconds. A three-pointer by senior Kaylee Cerruto cut the deficit to one with 42 seconds remaining, and following an Elms turnover, freshman Diamond Thomas had a clean look from outside the arc at the buzzer but came up short.
Denisha Parks led all scorers with 23 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds to pace Elms (4-7 overall, 3-1 NECC). Jenna Oyler also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Both offenses struggled early in the first half, but the Blazers found their groove after a jumper by Melissa LaFlamme put them in front 9-7 with 8:11 remaining. Elms later built the margin to 10 behind a 10-2 run in which Parks contributed six points.
Parks finished with 12 points in the half as Elms took a 26-17 lead into the locker room at the intermission. Mitchell shot just 20 percent in the stanza and got six points apiece from both Thomas and junior Kate Mulloy.
The Mariners made it a game in the second half, clawing back to within one on a Mulloy jumper with 9:48 to go. Mitchell then took its first lead of the half on a bucket by Cerruto just over a minute later, and freshman Savannah Boyle capped a 9-0 run with a jumper to give the Mariners their largest lead at 47-42 with 5:31 remaining.
Elms responded immediately as Parks completed an old fashion three-point play to cut the deficit back to two. Ellen Donohue followed with a three-pointer to put the Blazers back on top for good, and Parks added back-to-back lay-ups to increase the lead to 52-47 with 1:49 to go.
Mulloy and Cerruto both hit three-pointers in the final two minutes to keep the Mariners close, but neither would get a chance to attempt the game-winning shot on the final possession. Elms had two fouls to give in the final moments and wisely used one to take Mitchell out of its rhythm. The Mariners had 2.2 seconds to run their final play and found Thomas on the sideline inbounds pass, and although she got a good look at the basket her shot was off the mark.
Parks shot 9-for-21 in the contest and went 5-for-5 from the free throw line. LaFlamme had eight points and five rebounds for the Blazers while Nicolette Martin handed out a game-high six assists.
Mulloy finished with 15 points and nine rebounds while Thomas and Cerruto each contributed 12 points. Thomas also added eight boards and two steals. Freshman Dazjavia Williams was a spark of the bench for the Mariners and chipped in with eight rebounds and four steals.
Mitchell returns to action at home against Southern Vermont College on Saturday, January 12 at 3 p.m.