CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Elms College junior Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) finished with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds as the Blazers cruised past Lesley University 80-39 tonight in New England Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball action at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. With the win, Elms improves to 6-7 on the year and 5-1 in NECC play while the Lynx fall to 1-12 overall and 1-5 in the conference.
Parks was joined by three other Blazers in double figures. Junior Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) finished with 15 while classmate JC Picket (Chicopee, Mass.) completed her fourth consecutive double-double with 11 points and ten boards. Freshman Alex Marques (Newington, Conn.) came off the bench to chip in 12 points and five rebounds.
Lesley junior Grace Amato (South Royalton, Vt.) led the Lynx attack as she finished with eight points and six rebounds. Senior Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) and sophomore Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) each finished with eight points, respectively, while senior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) chipped in with four points and a team-high nine caroms.
The Blazers were hot from the field in the opening twenty minutes, knocking down 57.1-percent (20-35) of their attempts in the first half as they went into the break with a 47-18 lead. The visitors finished the game with a 44-percent (29-66) shooting percentage while holding the Lynx to a 25-percent (16-65) effort from the floor.
Elms also won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Lynx 61-33, including grabbing 22 off the offensive boards which led to 22 second-chance points. The Blazers also dominated down low, outscoring the Lynx 44-16 in the paint.
Lesley will return to action on Tuesday, January 14th when they travel to Becker College for a 7:00p tip-off. Elms will also be back in action on Tuesday when they play host to Daniel Webster College at 7:00p.