BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forwards Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) and Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) each scored 15 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team over visiting Mount Ida College, 74-71, in overtime this evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at Moore Gymnasium on the campus of Simmons in Boston, Mass. The Sharks improve to 5-13 overall and 1-4 in league play, while the Mustangs fall to 6-14 and 0-6.
First year guard Shanell Nardone (Tewksbury, Mass.) made the front end of a pair of free throws to give Mount Ida a 67-66 lead with 1:46 left in the second half. The Mustangs got the ball back, but first year forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) stole the inbounds pass under the basket and fed sophomore guard Kimberlee Hixon (Taunton, Mass.) for a layup, followed by a free throw to give Simmons a 69-67 margin with 68 seconds left in regulation. Sophomore guard Stephanie Champoux (Tewksbury, Mass.) converted a pair of free throws on the other end with 57 ticks showing on the clock for Mount Ida to tie the game for the fifth time in the final four minutes of the half. Neither team was able to score as the contest went to the extra session.
Nardone knocked down a jumper with 58 seconds gone in the overtime to give the visitors a 71-69 lead, but it would be the Mustangs' only points of the period as the Sharks scored the final five points of the night to come away with the win. Brasa made a lay-up to give the home team a 73-71 lead with 1:35 remaining in the game. The teams traded possessions before Mount Ida was able to call timeout with 21 seconds left. Brasa came up with a steal with 10 seconds left, before junior forward Gracie Rolfe (Newton, Mass.) went to the line for the hosts. She canned the first of two free throws for the Sharks to give them a three-point lead, but her second shot missed and the Mustangs' Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.) came down with her game-high 17th rebound as Mount Ida called time with four seconds left. First year guard Trish Liotta's (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) three-point try at the buzzer failed to go in and Simmons came away with the win.
The Sharks took an early 20-10 lead, capped by a three-pointer from junior guard Jennifer Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.) with 11:54 to go in the first half. Mount Ida put together a 15-6 stretch, led by a pair of trifectas from Liotta, to cut the deficit to 26-25 with 6:12 to play in the opening session. Simmons answered by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to increase its margin to 36-27 with three minutes to go in the half and took a 42-36 lead into the intermission. The Sharks' bench combined for 21 of the team's first half points.
The Sharks maintained a 46-38 advantage at the 17:05 mark of the second stanza, before the Mustangs went on a 14-2 run, fueled by a trio of three-pointers, to take a 52-48 lead with 13:31 left in regulation. Mount Ida later held a 55-52 lead with 10:13 on the second half clock, but Simmons ripped off seven straight points, including five from Brasa, to take a 59-55 cushion with 7:39 to play in the second period. The Mustangs showed their resiliency by scoring five of the next six points, including a layup from Martinez to knot the game at 60-60 with 4:03 remaining in the period.
McAdams was 6-11 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds to go with a pair of steals and an assist for the Sharks, while Brasa pulled down eight boards, came up with two steals, handed out an assist and blocked a shot in 26 minutes off the bench. Rolfe finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes and Silva chipped in with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, a block and a game-high four steals.
Martinez netted a game-high 19 points on 9-16 from the field and added three blocks, two assists and a steal to lead Mount Ida, while first year guard Imani Bumpus (West Hartford, Conn.) dropped in 14 points, dished for five assists and hauled in six rebounds. Nardone ended the evening with 11 points, five caroms, two assists and a pair of steals.
Simmons will be in action again on Thursday, February 5 when it hosts GNAC foe Anna Maria College at 7:30 p.m., while the Mustangs host Johnson & Wales University on the same night at 6:00 p.m.