FRANKLIN, Mass.- The Dean College Bulldogs women's basketball team fell to the Elms College Blazers 73-54 on Saturday in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at Pieri Gymnasium. The loss drops Dean to 5-9 (0-3 GNAC) while Elms improves to 4-10 (1-2 GNAC). 

The visitors raced out to an early lead scoring the first 11 points of the game and holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the first five minutes of the period. Dean broke through with free throws from Tori Viau (Johnston, R.I.) to get on the board. Elms continued their success throughout the rest of the period, controlling the action for a 16-7 lead after one.

The Blazers pushed their lead further in the second quarter, outscoring Dean 14-9 to take a 30-16 advantage into the halftime break. Elms outshot the Bulldogs 40% to 27% in the second quarter. Viau led Dean with five points in the first half.

Elms outscored Dean 22-18 in the third quarter to enter the fourth quarter with a 52-34 advantage. Consecutive baskets by Viau at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth cut the advantage to 16 early in the final period, but the visitors responded, pushing the lead to 65-42 with five minutes to play. Elms cruised down the stretch for the victory. 

Dean was led by Viau who finished with 17 points. Abi Boutin (Rocky Hill, Conn.) added 15 points while Alexandria Paquet (Santa Maria, Calif.) scored nine and grabbed seven rebounds. 

The Bulldogs are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to New England College for a 5:00 tip-off in GNAC action.