WBB Rebounds With 70-56 Win Over Elms

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Mitchell College women's basketball team used a 25-3 advantage in points off turnovers to post a 70-56 victory over Elms College on Thursday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Mitchell's defense forced 24 turnovers and held Elms to 29-percent shooting for the game. Sophomore Destiney Harris notched her third straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Kaylee Cerruto shot 4-of-6 from long range and finished with a team-high 14 points. Elms' Carolyn Talmadge led all scorers with 16 points while Annie Dunnack added seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Both teams entered the contest tied for third place in the NECC standings with identical 6-3 records. Mitchell improved to 7-9 overall and 7-3 in the conference to take sole possession of third place. Elms dropped to 7-12 overall and 6-4 in the NECC.

The Mariners never trailed after racing out to an early lead by scoring the game's first seven points. After the Blazers responded with a 7-0 run of their own to tie things up with 16:08 remaining in the half, Mitchell started bombing away from the outside to spark a 12-3 and pull away for good. Junior Allison Peck capped the stretch with a pair of three-pointers to put the Mariners up 19-9 with 10:43 to go in the stanza.

Mitchell led by as many as 14 in the half before taking a 34-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission. Talmadge and Dunnack each had seven points by the break to lead the Blazers, who shot 23 percent from the floor as a team. Peck, Harris and Cerruto paced Mitchell with six points apiece in the first half. 

The Mariners never let the lead dip below nine over the final 20 minutes. Cerruto, who netted a pair of treys in the first half, added two more in the second to fuel the attack from beyond the arc. Mitchell tied a season high with nine three-pointers and also recorded a season-high 20 assists, 10 of which came from senior Jen Iglesias.

Talmadge, who finished a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line, also pulled down seven rebounds. The Blazers held a 50-39 advantage on the glass outscored the Mariners 16-3 at the charity stripe. Katie Condon added 12 points and seven rebounds to round out the Elms players in double figures.

Joining Cerruto and Harris in double figures for the Mariners was junior Brittany Smyth, who netted 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Iglesias and junior Alix O'Neil each added seven points; Iglesias finished with only one turnover to her season-high 10 assists while O'Neil contributed eight rebounds and four steals.

Mitchell will next visit Newbury College on Saturday, February 6 at noon.