BENNINGTON, Vt. – Despite shooting 45.3 percent from the field and three players reaching double -digits, the Southern Vermont College women's basketball team fell to the visiting Elms College Blazers Thursday evening at the Mountaineer Athletic Center in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action, 70-60.
Mountaineer freshman captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) dropped a game-high 27 points in the effort while Elms was led by sophomore guard Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) who recorded a team-high 20 points, 17 coming in the first half.
The Blazers jumped out to a quick 14-5 lead with back-to-back Youngblood 3-pointers during a 13-0 Elms run. EC made the most of Southern Vermont turnovers, and a pair of baskets by sophomore captain Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) put Elms up 18-7 with 14:07 remaining.
SVC tried to work the ball low but was unable to convert as the Mountaineers made just 26.9 percent of their field goals in the opening stanza. Another Youngblood trey and a jumper by freshman guard Kendall McKinnon (Kensington, Conn.) saw the Blazer lead increase to 33-14 with 3:38 to play in the first. Both teams swapped baskets and Elms converted on its trips to the free throw line to go into the break ahead 42-20.
Youngblood threatened to have a monster game as she followed a Jen Normandie (Westford, Mass.) jumper with a 3-ball right out of the gate in the second half. With the Mountaineers down 26, Flagg started to get aggressive through the lane and combined with high-percentage shots by freshman forward Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, N.Y.) to chip away at the Elms lead.
Following a Flagg free throw, freshman forward Javasha White (Schenectady, N.Y.) hit a jumper to make the score 56-40 in favor of the Blazers with 9:37 left. Elms responded with a 6-0 run, but White and Flagg continued to stay positive and fight through every possession. A 10-0 Mountaineer run capped by a Flagg layup saw SVC inch closer, but time would be a factor and disallow Southern Vermont to get any closer, eventually falling 70-60.
Flagg scored 21 in the second half as White finished with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. McDonald had 11 on the night to go along with 8 boards. The Mountaineers shot 63 percent from the field in the second half.
Youngblood was followed on the Elms side by Parks who netted 16 in the win, also recording a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds; she also led all players with five assists and added three steals on the night. The Blazers owned a 14-0 advantage on points from the bench.
Southern Vermont (3-16 overall, 3-9 NECC) next plays Saturday at 1 p.m. at first-place Regis College, and Elms (11-8 overall, 10-2) next hosts Mitchell College on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tilt.