CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Pine Manor senior Therline Dumeran (Cambridge, MA) collected a game-high 17 rebounds, while also scoring 12 points, to surpass 500 rebounds in her career as Pine Manor College defeated the Simmons Sharks, 65-63, on Saturday afternoon at Brunelli Court in Chestnut Hill, MA. The Gators were also led by senior Paulette Wright, who poured in a game-high 19 points to help Pine Manor (8-15, 2-11 GNAC) earn its second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory of the season. With the loss Simmons ends its 2011-12 season with a 4-20 overall record (1-12 GNAC).

The teams played to a 9-all tie for the first six minutes of the game before Simmons went on a 9-0 run, capped by a pair of free-throws from freshmen Shae Riley (Sanford, ME), to take a 18-9 advantage with 9:19 left in the half. A lay-up by sophomore Ashley Carusone (Nashua, NH) broke the drought for Pine Manor, but Simmons would respond by hitting the next two shots of the contest to take a 12-point advantage, leading 23-11 with 7:51 to play before the half.

The 12-point Simmons advantage was the largest lead of the game for either team. However, the lead was short lived. Pine Manor responded with a 10-2 run of its own to cut the deficit to four, at 25-21, with 1:53 left in the first. The teams would then exchange baskets, with Carusone sinking another lay-up in the closing seconds of the half, allowing Simmons to take a 27-23 advantage into the break.

Simmons opened the second-half with a jumper by Jessica Thomas (Sandwich, MA) and raced out to another double-digit advantage, taking a 36-25 lead following a jumper by Alex Acloque (Randolph, MA) 4:25 into the second session. Acloque finished with a game-high 12 points while also collecting 10 rebounds for the Sharks. Thomas and Simmons junior Liz O'Connor (Milton, MA) both finished with 11 points.

Pine Manor then slowly began to chip away at the deficit until a lay-up by senior Jessica Gilmore (Dorchester, MA) pulled the Gators to within two, at 40-38. A pair of free-throws by Riley put Simmons back ahead by four, but Gilmore would then hit another lay-up to make the score 42-40 with 11: 14 remaining.

A pair of Simmons three-pointers by Thomas on either side of a lay-up by Dumeran made the score 48-42 in favor of the Sharks. However, a three-pointer by junior Tia Nelson (Rockport, MA) pulled the Gators to back within three, at 48-45, with 8:29 to play. The Gators then went to work at the free-throw line, as freshmen Natasia Franklin (Windsor, CT) and Wright both hit a pair of free-throws to give the Gators a 49-48 advantage— their first since leading 9-7 with 14:42 remaining in the first.

From that point forward the Gators increased their advantage to as many as seven points, following a jumper by Wright to make the score 60-53 with 2:55 to play. With Simmons trailing, Thomas hit the second of back-to-back Simmons three-pointer, pulling the Sharks to within one point at 60-59 with 1:47 to play. Wright then responded for the Gators, hitting a jumper to put PMC ahead by three with 1:24 to go. A jumper by Acloque once again cut the Pine Manor lead to a single point with 49 seconds to play. Leading 62-61, PMC senior Phibe Pham (Boston, MA) calmly knocked down a pair of free-throws to put the Gators back ahead by three with 34 seconds remaining.

Following a Simmons timeout, a lay-up from Brittany Dolloff (Hollis, NH) once again pulled the Sharks to within a point of the lead, making the score 64-63 with only 11 seconds to play in regulation. Pine Manor junior Ashley Reeves (Roxbury, MA) then hit one of two free-throws, missing the second and allowing Simmons one last chance to regain the lead. However, following another Simmons timeout, the Sharks were unable to get off a final attempt as Pine Manor secured the 65-63 victory.

Pine Manor will close out the season tomorrow afternoon when the Gators host the University of Maine Fort Kent at 1:00 p.m.