PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Junior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) rejected a career-high seven shots and added 11 points for the Simmons College women's basketball team in a 60-49 loss at host Johnson & Wales University this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Wildcat Center in Providence, R.I. The Sharks fall to 4-7 overall and 4-2 in league play, while the Wildcats improve to 8-6 and 3-2.
Johnson & Wales dominated the post on the offensive end of the court, outscoring Simmons, 32-8, in points in the paint and also owned a 47-38 rebounding margin.
Silva finished just a block shy of the school record for the Sharks and also pulled down eight rebounds and came up with four steals. Senior forward Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) netted 12 points to go with five rebounds and an assist, while sophomore guard Francesca Corsinetti (Johnston, R.I.) scored 13 points, including three trifectas in addition to three assists and a rebound.
Junior center Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points on 8-14 from the floor to lead the Wildcats and added 12 boards for her fourth double-double of the year, while recording two blocks, handing out an assist and coming up with a game-best five steals. Senior forward Kimberly Viafara (Woodside, N.Y.) finished a rebound short of a double-double of her own with 12 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. Sophomore forward Ally Mishol (Longmeadow, Mass.) registered a double-double of 11 points and 10 caroms and added a steal and an assist.
The teams were tied at 33-33 following a jump shot from Simmons senior forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) with 3:50 left in the third quarter. Johnson & Wales scored seven straight points, including five from Mishol, in the next 105 seconds to take the lead for good at 40-33 with 2:05 to go in the period. The home team owned a 42-37 margin going into the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats opened the final quarter on an 11-5 run to take their largest lead of the game at 53-42 with 2:51 remaining in the game. Corsinetti knocked down a pair of three-pointers, including one as the shot clock wound down, to pull the Sharks to within 53-48 with 1:51 to go, but it was as close as they would get as Johnson & Wales scored seven of the final eight points to close out the game.
Simmons led for most of the first half and did not trail in the opening quarter. The Sharks built an 11-5 lead, including five points from Corsinetti, with 3:18 showing on the first quarter clock. Simmons later held a 13-7 lead, before the Wildcats ripped off six unanswered points to knot the game at 13 with 1:07 to play in the period. McAdams converted a layup with 31 ticks left in the quarter to give the Sharks the lead heading into the second period.
Silva later hit a jumper to give Simmons a 19-16 margin with 5:56 left in the first half, but Viafara gave the home team its first lead of the night with a layup at 4:46 as part of an 8-0 run that pushed Johnson & Wales' advantage to 24-19 with 1:39 to play in the second period. McAdams knocked down a jumper with 59 seconds left to cut the deficit to 24-21 for the Sharks and head to the intermission down by three.
Back-to-back jumpers from Corsinetti and McAdams reclaimed the lead early in the third quarter for Simmons and another jump shot from Silva later gave the visitors a 29-26 lead with 7:26 to go in the third quarter. The Wildcats responded with five straight points, including a three-ball from junior guard Sarah Duryea (Middle Village, N.Y.), to give them a 31-29 lead with 5:36 showing in the quarter.
The Sharks continue their road trip when they head to Newton, Mass. to take on GNAC foe Lasell College on Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m., while Johnson & Wales hosts Emmanuel College on the same night at 7:00 p.m.