BOSTON, Mass. – Despite holding the scoring advantage in the second half, the Simmons College women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Emmanuel College, 75-61, this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-10 overall and 5-5 in GNAC play, while the Saints have won eight of their last nine and improve to 14-6 and 10-1.
Emmanuel took advantage of 37 Simmons miscues, outscoring the home team, 35-13 in points off turnovers and owned a 12-0 advantage in fast break points. The Sharks owned a 48-39 rebounding advantage.
Senior forward Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) posted her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 boards to go with three steals to lead Simmons, while senior forward Kimberlee Hixon (Taunton, Mass.) contributed with 10 points, two steals and a rebound. Junior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) also chipped in with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and a blocked shot.
Junior guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.) led EC with 14 points and added four steals and two rebounds, while senior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, four steals and a blocked shot. Sophomore guard Olivia Dalphonse (Portland, Maine) netted 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with three steals. Senior forward Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.) finished a point and a rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and in rebounds in addition to a game-high five steals.
Simmons scored the first four points of the game, before the Saints scored the next five, including four from Chalk to take the lead with 7:15 left in the opening period. Emmanuel later owned a 14-10 margin with 3:01 to go in the quarter, before going on a 10-4 run, led by five points from Fox, to take a 24-14 lead into the second period.
The Saints later maintained a 28-18 lead with 7:25 to play in the second quarter. The visitors scored 14 of the next 20 points, capped by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Maddie McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) to increase their advantage to 42-24 at 1:58 for their largest lead of the game. Hixon converted a pair of free throws for the Sharks to make it 42-26 at halftime.
Simmons scored six of the first eight points of the second half, including four from senior guard Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.), to cut the deficit to 44-32 with 7:20 remaining in the period. The Sharks stayed within a dozen points at 46-34 with 5:31 left, but Emmanuel went on an 8-2 burst, including a pair of three-pointers from McLaughlin to take a 54-36 cushion with 3:47 showing in the third quarter. The teams went into the fourth quarter with the Saints owning a 59-43 with each team scoring 17 points in the period.
Dalphonse made a layup at 8:28 of the final quarter to give Emmanuel a 61-43 lead. Simmons responded with nine unanswered points, including four from Silva to pull to within 61-52 with 5:47 remaining in the contest. It was as close as the home team would get as the Saints put together a 9-2 run to take a 70-54 advantage with 3:25 to go in the game.
The Sharks return to the court on Tuesday, January 31 when they take on cross-street rival Wheelock College at the Winsor Gymnasium for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off, while the Saints host Norwich University on February 2 at 7:00 p.m. in GNAC action.