CASTLETON, Vt. - Blazers Freshman Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) powered Elms to its first victory of the season in the consolation game of the Rutland Herald Tip-Off Tournament, lifting her Blazers to a 53-39 victory over Simmons Sharks on Saturday afternoon.

Parks was unstoppable inside, scoring a career-high 25 points while also dominating the boards with 17 rebounds. Senior Ericka Murphy (Torrington, Conn.) also recorded a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds.

The Sharks were led by junior Liz O'Connor's (Milton, Mass.) double-double. She scored a team-high 13 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, including an stellar eight on the offensive end. Freshman Olivia LaCroix (Manchester, N.H.) was second on the team with nine points and also added five rebounds and two blocks.

The game was back and forth throughout the first six minutes of action. A layup by Simmons' Leah Davis (Cranston, R.I.) tied the score at nine with 13:50 remaining in the first half, however Elms went on a 10-0 run over a seven-minute span to extend their lead to 19-9. The Blazers kept the Sharks at bay for the remaining and held a 32-17 lead going into the break.

In the second half Elms asserted itself once again, pushing its lead to 47-27 over the half's first nine and a half minutes. Simmons fought back but couldn't get any closer than 12 as they lost by a 53-39 margin.

The Blazers improve to 1-1 with the victory while the Sharks fall to 0-3 on the season.

The Sharks return to action on Tuesday, November 22nd when they travel to Clark University of a 6:00 p.m. non-conference match up.