PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Junior guard Jennifer Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.) scored 13 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team in a 79-39 loss to host Johnson & Wales University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest this evening at the Wildcat Center in Providence, R.I. The Sharks fall to 5-16 overall and 1-7 in GNAC play, while the Wildcats win their third straight to improve to 13-9 and 5-3.

Johnson & Wales held Simmons to just 26.1% (12-46) from the floor and controlled the glass with a 59-29 rebounding margin, including 30 offensive boards. The Wildcats made the most of their second chances, outscoring the Sharks, 30-2 in second chance points.

Johnson & Wales jumped out to an 11-3 lead capped by a three-pointer from first year guard Sarah Duryea (Middle Village, N.Y.), but Simmons came back with six straight points to pull to within 11-9 at the 11:52 mark. The Wildcats held their guests scoreless for the next five and a half minutes while scoring 12 straight points as part of a 24-9 stretch to close out the first period. 

Johnson & Wales held the Sharks to just 17.4% (4-23) from the field, while owning a 28-18 margin on the boards, including 14 offensive caroms to pick up a 10-2 advantage in second chance points.

The Wildcats held Simmons without a point for the first three-plus minutes of the second stanza and opened the second period with a 10-2 run, fueled by six points from sophomore forward Bobbie Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.), to take a 45-20 cushion with 16:11 to go in the half. The Sharks responded with a 10-4 burst, capped by a three-pointer from Janiak to extend her streak to 21 games with at least one made trifecta and pull the visitors to within 49-30 at the 12:53 mark of the second half. 

Johnson & Wales later maintained a 53-32 lead with 10:35 showing in the second period, before closing out the game on a 26-7 run, while holding Simmons scoreless for the final 6:43 of action. Whitehead netted eight points in the final nine minutes to spark the Wildcats.

Janiak was 4-7 from the floor and also dished for two assists and made a steal for the Sharks. Sophomore forward Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) chipped in with seven points, five rebounds and a block, while classmate Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) scored six points, grabbed six boards and came up with a career-high four steals in 19 minutes of action.

Whitehead led Johnson & Wales with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds and was 7-11 from the field in addition to handing out two assists and coming up with a steal. The Wildcats had seven players score eight or more points on the night, including first year guard Raquel Pederzani (Coventry, R.I.), who dropped in 11 points, pulled down four rebounds and doled our four assists. Sophomore forward Kimberly Viafara (Woodside, N.Y.) contributed with eight points and 12 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench, while first year center Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.) netted eight points, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots, came up with a pair of steals and passed for an assist.

Simmons returns to action on Saturday, February 14 when it travels across the city to take on GNAC rival Suffolk University at 1:00 p.m., while Johnson & Wales hosts Albertus Magnus College on the same day at 1:00 p.m.