BOSTON, Mass. - First year forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) paced the Simmons College women's basketball team with nine points, eight rebounds and a career-high five steals in a 71-52 loss to host Emerson College this evening in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 4-12 on the season, while the Lions improve to 10-8.

First year forward Lauren Madigan (Valley Falls, N.Y.) made a layup with 12:57 to play in the opening half to give Emerson an 11-5 lead, before Simmons ripped off six straight points, including four from first year forward Celina Jones (Milford, Mass.), to pull the Sharks even at 11-11 with 11:48 showing in the half. Silva later hit a jump shot to keep Simmons to within one at 17-16 with 7:46 on the first half clock. The Lions closed out the half with a 13-3 burst, capped by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Emily Cameron (Culver City, Calif.), to give the home team a 30-19 lead at the intermission. 

Junior Gracie Rolfe (Newton, Mass.) scored the first three points of  the second half to cut the deficit to 30-22 for the Sharks, with just under a minute and a half gone in the second stanza. Emerson answered by scoring 12 unanswered points, fueled by six points from junior guard Janissa Delzo (Middlesex, N.J.), to increase its advantage to 42-22 at the 13:58 mark of the half. The Lions kept the pressure on and took their largest lead of the game at 65-37 with 5:59 remaining in the contest, but Simmons chipped away with a 15-6 run in the final six minutes to set the final at 71-52.

Silva added a pair of blocks and two assists to her night for the Sharks, while Rolfe finished with nine points, two boards, two assists and a pair of steals. Junior guard Jennifer Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and an assist.

Junior forward Kelsey Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) came off the bench to net 11 points, grab eight rebounds, block four shots, hand out an assist and come up with a steal in 21 minutes of action for Emerson. First year guard Eastin Ashby (Pittston, Pa.) contributed with 11 points, two rebounds, three steals and an assist.

Simmons will be in action again on Saturday, January 31 when it heads to Standish, Maine to take on Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Saint Joseph's College for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off, while hosts Smith College at 1:00 p.m. on the same day.