Simmons Basketball used an 18-0 run in the second half to prevail 53-50 over host Suffolk University on Monday afternoon at Regan Gymnasium. The Sharks improve to 1-1 in the GNAC and 9-5 overall, while Suffolk falls to 2-2 in the GNAC and 8-6 overall. With the victory over Suffolk, Head Coach Tony Price reached his 100th career win midway through the ninth year at the helm of Simmons' Basketball program.
"Achieving 100 career wins is not an easy task in the New England basketball collegiate region," said Director of Athletics Ali Kantor. "With several perennial regional and national women's programs surrounding Simmons, Tony has coached against some of the winningest coaches in the area.
"This is a great achievement for the Simmons basketball program. We are proud of Coach Price and are fortunate to have Coach Price as a member of Simmons Athletics."
Stephanie Fox (West Springfield, Mass.) led Simmons with 22 points and ten rebounds as she shot 11-17 from the field. Sarah Clayton (Falmouth, Mass.) had 11 points and Lauren Kreckie (Braintree, Mass.) reached double figures in scoring with ten points for the Sharks.
Both teams struggled in the first half, as they combined for 45 missed shots. Suffolk fell behind 8-5 early in the half, but an 18-2 run over a ten-minute span helped the Rams lead 26-18 at halftime.
Suffolk continued its sharp play early in the second half as an Andorra Salaices' (Franklin, Mass.) three-pointer gave the Rams a 33-20 lead with 16:47 remaining in the game.
Simmons responded with an 18-0 run in the next five minutes to take a 38-33 lead midway through the second half. The Sharks never trailed for the remainder of the game, as it held a one point lead on six different occasions in the last ten minutes.
A Clayton three from the corner put Simmons ahead, 49-45, with just under three minutes remaining. Freshman Julianne Conrad (West Bridgewater, Mass.) answered with her only three of the game 11 seconds later, to cut Simmons' lead to 49-48.
Fox gave Simmons a 51-48 lead with one minute on the clock, but Meghan Tracey (Rehoboth, Mass.) responded with a short jumper to make it a 51-50 game 16 seconds later. Tracey led the Rams with 14 points and 15 rebounds on 7-16 shooting.
Two clutch free throws from Julianna Eagles (Quincy, Mass.) put the Sharks in front 53-50 with 37 seconds remaining. Eagles finished her afternoon with eight points.
Simmons takes on Mount Ida College on Wednesday, January 21 at 7:00pm at home.