BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore guard Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) scored a career-high 11 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team over visiting Lesley University, 54-33, this evening at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks improve to 1-3 on the season, while the Lynx fall to 0-3.
The point total for Lesley is the lowest for a Simmons opponent since the Sharks defeated visiting Fisher College, 93-24, on February 14, 2012. Simmons forced Lesley into 31 turnovers and held a 25-6 advantage in points off turnovers, including 17-2 in the second half.
The Lynx erased a four-point halftime deficit by holding the Sharks scoreless for the first 5:43 of the second half, while scoring seven unanswered points, including five from junior guard Jackie Ewing (Hong Kong, China), to take a 24-21 lead with 14:39 to play in the half. Junior forward Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) found the scoring column in the second half for Simmons with a made free throw at 14:17 to make it 24-22.
The free throw sparked a 9-0 run for the Sharks to give them a 30-24 lead with 10:59 showing in the second half. Simmons later held a 32-28 margin with 9:12 left in the period, before closing out the game on a 22-5 stretch, fueled by five points each from Brasa and Zoldy, to put the game out of reach and take the victory. The Sharks' defense held Lesley to just 2-13 from the floor and forced seven turnovers in the final nine minutes of the contest, including just two points allowed in the last 5:35 of play.
Simmons opened the game by scoring six of the first eight points in the first three minutes, before the Lynx countered with a 6-2 run, led by four points from junior guard Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.), to knot the game at 8-8 with 11:43 remaining in the half. The Sharks put together a 9-3 run, led by four points from sophomore forward Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.), to stake a 17-11 cushion with 6:29 to go in the first half. Simmons later maintained a 19-13 lead at the 3:44 mark, but Lesley scored the next two field goals to cut the deficit to 19-17 with 2:34 showing, before Zoldy knocked down a jump shot to give the Sharks the eventual halftime margin of 21-17.
Brasa added an assist, a steal and a blocked shot to her night for Simmons, while Zoldy was 5-9 from the floor and came up with a career-best five steals to go with four assists and a rebound. Junior guard Jennifer Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, two assists and a rebound and McAdams ended with eight points, five boards, an assist and a steal.
Ewing netted a game-high 14 points and added three rebounds, three assists and three thefts to lead the Lynx, while senior center Grace Amato (Sharon, Vt.) finished a point short of a double-double with nine points and 10 caroms in addition to a pair of blocks.
The Sharks will return to action on Saturday, November 29 when they host Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 1:00 p.m., while Lesley hosts Fisher College on December 2 at 8:00 p.m.