BOSTON, Mass. -- Simmons Basketball fell to rival Emerson College, 63-51 Saturday afternoon, as the Sharks and Lions honored Kay Yow in the annual Great Northeast Athletic Conference's Play for Kay match up. The Sharks celebrated the team's three seniors, Brittany Dolloff (Hollis, N.H.), Alex Acloque (Randolph, Mass.) and Jessica Thomas (Sandwich, Mass.) prior to the game for their hard work and contributions to Simmons athletics.

The first half was tightly fought, with strong passing and quick transitions by each squad. Emerson's Olivia DiNucci posted 19 points to lead all players in scoring. Teammate Olivia Connors added 14 more and five defensive rebounds.

Sharks junior Liz O'Connor (Milton, Mass.) recorded a team high 13 points and seven rebounds and freshman Shae Reily (Sanford, Maine) was a force in the paint, picking up nine points and five rebounds.

Simmons went into halftime leading by one, 25-24.

The Lions (8-16 Overall, 5-7 GNAC) took charge in the second half, scoring five unanswered points multiple times but the Sharks continued to sink shots to keep the score within three. Hannah May (Hamden, Conn.) buried a timely field goal and Thomas found the net barely inside the arc to pull the Sharks within two.

Emerson outshot the Sharks in the final three minutes with quality looks by Elissa Chojnicki and Shannon Norton.

With the loss, the Sharks move to 3-19 overall and 1-11 in the GNAC.

Simmons returns to the court in their final home game of the season on Tuesday, February 14th at 7:00 when they host Fisher College. The Lions host Anna Maria in their final match of the season on February 18th.