Nashua, N.H. -- Rivier College Women's Basketball defeated the visiting Simmons Sharks this afternoon, 72-56. With the victory, the Raiders are in the midst of a seven game winning streak and have won eight of their past ten since the calendar turned to 2012.

Senior Amandra Purcell (Hudson, N.H.) drained 8 shots from beyond the arc as she finished with 26 points in the game. Her younger sister, freshman Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H.), added a solid 9-16 from the field on her way to 22 total points.

Sophomore Jaclyn Penniman (Dudley, Mass.) finished just shy of a double-double as she recorded 9 points and 9 rebounds.

Simmons College (3-17 overall, 1-9 GNAC) was led by freshman Olivia LaCroix (Manchester, N.H.), who recorded a tem high, 19 points in the contest. Also contributing with a double-digit point effort was junior Liz O'Connor (Milton, Mass.). O'Connor had 14 points and 8 rebounds while senior Alex Acloque (Randolph, Mass.) was the team leader in rebounds with 10.

After a rough first half in which the Raiders went 0-for-9 from the free throw line, Coach Paul Williams made some halftime adjustments. Rivier was able to go 12-for-17 in the second half which helped build a 22 point lead with about 4 minutes remaining in the game.

Simmons outshot the Raiders from the floor as the Sharks checked in with a 40% mark from the field versus Rivier's 36.9%. However the difference was in the three-point game as the Raiders knocked down 12-of-26 for 46.2% where the Sharks were just 1-for-8 (12.5%).

Next up for Rivier, who improved to 15-6 overall and 9-1 inside of GNAC competition, will be Lasell College. The Lasers will visit the Muldoon Gymnasium on Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. start time. Simmons will also resume play on Tuesday night as they travel up to Northfield, Vermont to battle GNAC rival Norwich University.