BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Simmons College women's basketball team fell to visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 66-49, this afternoon at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Engineers improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Sharks fall to 1-4.
MIT shot 51.6% (16-31) in the second half, while committing just three turnovers and outscored Simmons, 14-4, in points off turnovers to pull away for the victory.
Sophomore point guard Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) drained a jump shot with 8:32 left in the second half to pull the Sharks even at 44-44, but the Engineers held Simmons scoreless for the next 6:18, while scoring 19 unanswered points to put the game out of reach. Drammis scored nine points during the run as MIT took its largest lead of the day at 63-44 with 2:14 remaining in the game.
The Engineers took an early 7-2 lead with 17:30 showing in the opening half and later owned a 15-9 advantage at the 12:28 mark, before the Sharks came back with a 12-4 burst, fueled by eight points from Zoldy, to take a 21-19 lead with 9:27 to play in the period. MIT reeled off eight straight points, including six from junior forward Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, Calif.), to take a 27-21 cushion with 3:04 left in the first half. Simmons responded, as it did for most of the game, with the final six points of the half, all from sophomore forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.), to knot the contest at 27-27 going into the break.
The Sharks outscored the visitors, 11-4, on points off turnovers and made just six miscues in the half.
The teams played within four points of each other through the first 12 minutes of the second half with five ties and five lead changes during that stretch. Senior guard Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, Md.) hit a jumper with 12:05 to play in the game to give the Engineers a 39-37 lead, before junior guard Jennifer Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.) knocked down a three-pointer to give Simmons its last lead of the day at 40-39 with 11:06 to go in the game.
Drammis added 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season for MIT to go with four assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots. Ramachandran finished with her second double-double of the year with 20 points on 10-11 from the floor to go with 12 boards, three assists and a pair of steals, while senior guard Osheiza Otori (Metairie, La.) chipped in with 14 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and steal. Sophomore guard Liana Ilutzi (East Hanover, N.J.) led all playmakers with seven assists in addition to scoring six points and coming up with a game-high five steals.
Brasa led the Sharks with her third double-double of the season on 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Zoldy ended with 10 points, three boards, two assists and a steal. Junior forward Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) came off the bench to contribute with nine points on 4-4 from the field and 1-1 from the line and added eight rebounds and an assist in just 20 minutes of action.
Simmons will be in action again on Saturday, December 6 when it travels to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on Pine Manor College at 1:00 p.m., while the Engineers return to the hardwood to host Babson College in the NEWMAC opener on December 3 at 7:00 p.m.
