Women's Basketball To Host Southern Vermont College

The Matchup: Southern Vermont College Mountaineers (3-18, 2-11 NECC) at Elms College Blazers (7-13, 6-5 NECC)
Date: Tuesday, February 9
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Site: Picknelly Arena (Chicopee, Mass.)
Click here for directions to Elms College
All-Time Series: Elms College leads the all-time series, 3-0
Last Meeting: Elms downed Southern Vermont 74-64 earlier this season on Jan. 23 in Bennington, V.T.

Setting The Scene: Elms enters Tuesday's matchup against Southern Vermont having won four of its last seven games, but has dropped its two most recent outings against Mitchell College on Feb. 4 and Daniel Webster College on Feb. 6. The Blazers, who will play all four of their remaining 2009-10 regular season contests at Picknelly Arena, will look to snap their two-game losing skid by winning their fourth straight over the Mountaineers dating back to 2009 when the series began.

Scouting The Opposition: Southern Vermont is currently on a four-game losing slide and has now lost six of its last seven games. The Mountaineers came up short against Becker College, 78-70 in their most recent outing on Feb. 6. Joa Claircius (Clermont, Fla.) poured in a team-high 27 points, while Christie Henry (Essex, V.T.) was a force on the glass, picking up 10 offensive and 10 defensive rebounds in the losing effort. Alyssa Davis (West Burke, V.T.) netted 13 points, while Henry finished with 10 points to pace the Southern Vermont offense. Davis also handed out a team-high five assists.

Last Time Out Against Southern Vermont: In Elms’ 74-64 win over Southern Vermont earlier this season, sophomore guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, Mass.) scored a team-high 20 points, and dished out six assists to lead the Blazers in the win. Talmadge delivered 11 of her 20 points in the second stanza, while senior guard Annie Dunnack (Mansfield Center, Conn.) dropped in 15 points on the day. Senior forward Erin Hutchinson (Groton, Mass.) finished with eight points (six in the opening 20 minutes), while senior guard Jessica Jurkowski (Belchertown, Mass.) chipped in 12 points and hauled in seven rebounds. Hutchinson added four boards in the winning effort against the Mountaineers.

Climbing The Ranks: In just two seasons, Talmadge has dished out 210 assists and ranks second on Elms’ all-time list for career assists. The sophomore point guard is just 11 helpers shy of breaking Michelle Fernandes’ record of 220 helpers set from 2004-08.

A Look Ahead: The Blazers will host Lesley University on Thursday, Feb. 11 before welcoming Mitchell College to Chicopee on Saturday, Feb. 13. Saturday’s contest against the Mariners is a “pink-out” game. Elms will then host Wheelock College on Thursday, Feb. 18 before wrapping up its 2009-10 regular season campaign with a road contest against Bay Path that will be played at Picknelly Arena on Feb. 20.

Keeping Track Of Blazers' Athletics: The latest news, notes, and statistics on all 15 of Elms College's intercollegiate athletic programs can be found on the web at http://athletics.elms.edu/landing/index.