BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons College women's basketball team fell to visiting Wellesley College, 45-33, this evening at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 0-3 in their home opener, while the Blue improve to 1-2 on the season.
Wellesley forced Simmons into 30 turnovers and used the miscues to outscore the Sharks, 20-9, in points off turnovers.
The Blue hit five of their first six shots of the game to jump out to a 12-2 lead in the first seven minutes of the contest, led by six points from senior forward Morgyne Weaver (Oklahoma City, Okla.). Wellesley later maintained a 16-6 advantage with 9:32 to play in the half, before Simmons went on a 12-5 run, led by five points from junior guard Jennifer Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.), to cut the deficit to 21-18 with 1:38 showing in the opening half. The Blue scored the final four points of the period to take a 25-18 lead into the intermission.
Wellesley scored seven of the first 10 points of the second stanza to increase its lead to 32-21 at the 12:58 mark of the second half, before sophomore forward Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) hit a jumper and sophomore guard Kelsey Heavener (Stafford Springs, Conn.) converted a fast break layup to pull the Sharks to within 32-25 with 11:13 to play in the contest. It would be as close as they would get as the Blue went on a 9-2 burst, capped by a three-pointer from senior guard Natalie Anderson (Bellevue, Wash.), to take their largest lead of the night at 41-27 with 6:25 remaining in the game. Wellesley held Simmons off for the rest of the contest to come away with the victory.
Weaver matched her career-high with 22 points and added 11 rebounds for a double-double to lead the Blue. She was 9-14 from the floor and added a steal, while senior forward Meghan Sargent (Bedford, N.H.) chipped in with six points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of assists. Sophomore forward Ailis Hanley (Cranston, R.I.) also contributed with two points, a rebound and a steal to go with a game-high six assists.
Sophomore forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) led the Sharks with nine points and nine rebounds to go with a steal and an assist, while McAdams finished with eight points, four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a blocked shot. Janiak netted eight points and added a steal, a rebound and a career-high two blocks. First year forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) helped out with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots.
Simmons returns to action on Tuesday, November 25 when it hosts Lesley University at Moore Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m., while Wellesley travels to Waterville, Maine on November 22 to take on Westfield State University in the first round of the Colby Invitational at 7:00 p.m.