The deck may have been stacked against the Simmons basketball team on Saturday with the absence of head coach Tony Price, who was out sick. But in a hostile environment the girls banded together under top assistant Darryl Simpson, and were able to clinch a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament berth with a 90-85 win over host Rivier.

The offense as a whole exploded in this one, as four players poured in double figures to lead a balanced attack. Junior forward Lauren Kreckie was the breakout star in this game busting loose for 33 points on 12-24 shooting including four three pointers. Classmate Sarah Clayton had a huge game as well, connecting for a season-high 24 points, including a remarkable 5-7 from beyond the arc. With the outside shooters connecting from deep Rivier had to extend their defense and that opened things up on the inside for sophomore Stephanie Fox, who was reasonably contained to 10 points and four rebounds while saddled with foul trouble.

Senior center Nikki Cohen picked up some of the slack with 11 points and seven rebounds. The win guarantees the Sharks a spot in the GNAC tournament, which will begin next Tuesday. At the moment they are looking at eighth place and a first round date with top seed Emmanuel, but a win Saturday coupled with another Rivier loss could boost them to the seven spot.

Simmons will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon when they make the long trek north to Vermont to take on Norwich at 1 p.m.