NEWTON, Mass. - The Mount Ida College women's basketball team led wire-to-wire capturing their second consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over visiting Simmons, winning 69-57 Tuesday evening in Newton, Massachusetts. Mount Ida was strong all over the court shooting 43 percent from the floor and 38 percent from downtown.
The Mustangs improve to a league best 2-0 in GNAC action besting an overall record of 8-5. Simmons falls to 2-9 for the season and drop their first conference bid of the year standing at 0-1.
Mount Ida was led by an impressive performance from senior guard Shannon Wood (Gorham, ME) recording her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 assists. Sophomore guard/forward Abbey Fedigan (New Fairfield, CT) scored a team-high 15 points while freshman forward Jenn Rafuse (Brockton, MA) played strong with 10 points and five caroms.
Simmons saw a strong night offensively from junior Liz O'Connor (Milton, MA) with a game high 19 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Brittany Dolloff (Hollis, NH) was 3-6 from beyond the arc adding 17 points and five boards respectively.
To open the first half, the Mustangs powered a 6-0 run capped on a Fedigan jumper through the first two and a half minutes (17:34) of the contest.
Mount Ida continued to lead up by as many as seven points (12-5) at the 15:18 mark following a Bolio lay-in.
The visitors cut the hosts advantage down to a deuce trialing 14-12 with 13 minutes to go in the first stanza after a successful tricfecta from Dolloff.
After the squads exchanged baskets for the next couple of minutes, the Mustangs would mount a small 6-0 run with 6:45 remaining before the midway point up 24-16 capped on a Rafuse lay-up.
The Mustangs made it a 10 point advantage after another Bolio lay-in ahead 30-20 with two minutes to go in the first frame.
The visitors cut the lead down to five heading into the break trailing 32-27 following a successful jumper by Shark sophomore Hannah May (Hamden, CT).
Through the first five minutes of the second half, Mount Ida went ahead by a game-high 13 points (42-29) finishing a 10-2 run finalized on an exclamation point trifecta from Wood.
The action went back-and-forth with the Mustangs lead teetering on the double digit threshold eventually holding their 13 point advantage with seven minutes left in the contest following a Fedigan lay-in.
Simmons chipped away through the next couple of minutes getting the Mount Ida lead down to five points (57-52) after a Dolloff jumper with three minutes to go.
The hosts kept the visitors at arms length for the remainder of the contest eventually rebuilding their double digit lead to solidify the 69-57 GNAC victory.
Mount Ida women's basketball will host Suffolk University in another league match-up Saturday afternoon with game time slated for 5:00 p.m. The Sharks will host GNAC foe Johnson & Wales University Thursday evening in Boston, Massachusetts starting at 7:00 p.m.