BOSTON, Mass. – Senior guard Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) scored a season-high14 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team in a 65-50 loss to visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology this afternoon at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 1-5 on the season, while the Engineers win their fourth straight and improve to 7-1. 

MIT took advantage of 24 Simmons turnovers, owning a 22-4 advantage in points off turnovers, while holding the home team to 29.5% (18-61) shooting from the floor. The Engineers moved the ball as well, racking up 21 assists on 25 field goals. 

Zoldy was 2-3 from three-point range and added five rebounds and five steals, while senior forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.)contributed with 13 points, five rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. 

Sophomore guard Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich.) scored all 18 of her game-high points in the first half and drained a game-high four three-pointers to go with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for MIT, while classmate Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash) finished with a career-high 18 points on 8-14 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds, blocked three shots, came up with two steals and handed out an assist. Sophomore forward Sophie Gershon (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two assists in 13 minutes off the bench, while senior point guard Liana Ilutzi (East Hanover, N.J.) dished out a game-high seven assists in addition to six points, three rebounds and a career-best six steals. 

Holinksi knocked down a three-pointer with 7:12 to play in the first quarter to give the Engineers a 7-4 lead, but Simmons scored the next five points, including a trifecta from Zoldy to give the home team a 9-7 lead at the 6:23 mark of the opening period. The teams traded the lead three times before the end of the quarter as MIT took a 14-13 edge into the second period. 

Brasa converted a layup with 9:15 remaining in the second quarter to keep the Sharks close at 16-15, but the Engineers put together a 15-5 run, paced by a pair of three-pointers from Holinski, to give the visitors a 31-20 cushion with 3:08 to play in the first half. Holinski later made a lay-up to give MIT its biggest lead of the half at 35-23 with 50 seconds left in the second quarter. The Engineers took a 37-25 margin into the intermission. 

Sophomore guard Dolly Yuan (San Jose, Calif.) made a layup with 5:15 showing in the third quarter to give MIT a 44-33 advantage, before Brasa scored the next six points to pull Simmons to within 44-39 with 2:25 left in the period. The Engineers responded with the last five points of the quarter to take a 49-39 lead into the final period of play. 

MIT later held a 53-43 lead with 6:31 to go in the fourth quarter, but the Sharks closed to within 53-46 with 4:26 remaining in the game. It was as close as they would get as the Engineers scored eight straight points, fueled by four of V'Dovec's career-high point total, to take a 61-46 lead with 2:44 to play. MIT held Simmons off the rest of the way. 

The Sharks will be in action again in 2017 when they host Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Lasell College on Thursday, January 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Moore Gymnasium, while the Engineers return to the court on December 13 when they head to Framingham, Mass. to take on Framingham State University at 6:00 p.m.