Simmons Basketball was defeated by visiting Great Northeast Athletic Conference rival and Fenway neighbor Emmanuel College, 75-49, on Thursday night at the Holmes Sports Center. With the loss, Simmons drops to 2-5 GNAC, 7-11 overall, while Emmanuel improves to 5-0 in the conference and 9-7 overall.

The Sharks were led by sophomore Liz O'Connor (Milton, Mass.) with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, and freshman Leah Davis (Cranston, R.I.), who tallied 11 points on the night. Sophomore Emily Thomas (Cheshire, Conn.) chipped in eight points, and junior Alex Acloque (Randolph, Mass.) had a team-high eight rebounds.

The first half opened to a frenzied pace from both sides, with even scoring through the eight minutes of play. With the score tied at 9-9, Simmons pulled ahead, 11-9, at 12:50 remaining, and increased the lead to 14-11 at 9:46. That was the last time the Sharks would lead for the remainder of the night, as the Saints pulled away to a 34-21 lead at halftime, and to a final score of 75-49.

For the Saints, Fiona O'Dwyer had a game-high 22 points, also grabbing 7 rebounds. Teammates Meghan Kirwan and Kristin LeBel each scored 12 points apiece, and Victoria Johnson was a strong defensive presence with 7 boards and four blocks.

Simmons will face off with GNAC opponent Mount Ida College on Saturday, January 29 at 3:00pm, while Emmanuel will next host Salem State University at 7:30pm on Saturday.