WORCESTER, Mass. - Junior guard Jennifer Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.) finished four points shy of matching her season-high by scoring a game-high 18 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team in an 82-40 loss to host Worcester Polytechnic Institute this afternoon in Harrington Auditorium in Worcester, Mass. The Sharks fall to 1-7 on the season, while the Engineers improve to 9-2 to match their best start in school history.
WPI controlled the boards with a 44-26 advantage and grabbed 21 caroms on the offensive glass to contribute to a 22-5 advantage in second-chance points. The home team took advantage of 34 turnovers as well, outscoring the visitors by a count of 43-3 in points off turnovers.
The Engineers scored 11 of the first 13 points in the opening four minutes of play, including five points from Dani Davis (East Granby, Conn.). Janiak drained a trifecta with just over 15 minutes left in the contest to pull Simmons to within 11-5 and netted the team's next seven points to keep the Sharks to within 18-12 with 12:05 showing in the opening half. WPI ripped off 10 straight points to break the game open and take a 28-12 advantage with 8:53 left in the first half. The Engineers closed out the half on a 20-7 run to take a 48-19 lead into the break.
Junior small forward Gracie Rolfe (Newton, Mass.) scored five of the second half's seven points to open the stanza, including a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 50-24 for Simmons with 18:16 to play in the contest. WPI put together a 14-4 burst to increase its cushion to 64-28 with 12:13 remaining in the game. The Engineers cruised the rest of the way for the victory.
Janiak was 7-11 from the floor and a perfect 2-2 from the line to lead the Sharks and added three rebounds and a pair of assists. Sophomore forward Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to go with two points, a steal and an assist in 15 minutes off the bench. Rolfe finished with seven points to match teammate Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.).
Davis scored 13 points to lead WPI and added a pair of assists and steals in addition to a block on the afternoon, while Rachel Pineda (Shrewsbury, Mass.) tallied 10 points and chipped in with a game-best four steals to go with a pair of helpers. Ama Biney (Worcester, Mass.) narrowly missed double-digits in scoring with nine points in just 11 minutes of action, while Jessica Larsen (Poway, Calif.) shared game-high honors with seven rebounds and doled out a pair of helpers and added a block.
Simmons returns to action on Monday, January 5 when it takes on cross-street rival Wheelock College for a noon tip-off at Moore Gymnasium on the campus of Simmons, while the Engineers head to Springfield, Mass. on January 7 for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with Springfield College.