BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Francesca Corsinetti (Johnston, R.I.) scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team over visiting Clark University, 69-50, this evening at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks improve to 7-14 on the season, while the Cougars fall to 13-12 in their regular-season finale.
Both teams combined for 61 turnovers, but Simmons took advantage, owning a 25-14 margin in points off turnovers and also held Clark to just 32.8% (19-58) from the floor.
Corsinetti drained a trio of three-pointers and matched a career high with five assists in addition to three rebounds and a steal in 27 minutes off the bench for the Sharks. Senior forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) netted 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and came up with a steal, while senior guard Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) chipped in with 11 points, three steals and an assist. Senior forward Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) was a point and a rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and nine boards to go with four steals and two assists. Sophomore forward Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) contributed with a career-high seven steals and 10 rebounds in addition to six points and an assist.
Sophomore Ogechi Ezemma (Hope Valley, R.I.) led the Cougars with 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals and added an assist, while sophomore forward Maya Kerstetter (Northampton, Mass.) scored eight points, pulled down five boards, handed out four assists and came up with three steals.
Junior forward Haley Wilder (Rindge, N.H.) knocked down a three-pointer to give Clark a 3-2 lead with 7:58 left in the opening quarter, but it was the last lead for the visitors for the rest of the night. Junior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) made a lay-up to give Simmons the lead for good at 7:29. Wilder later hit a jumper with 1:13 left in the quarter to pull the Cougars to within 16-12. Corsinetti quickly gave the Sharks a double-digit lead with a pair of threes in a span of 29 seconds to give them a 24-12 advantage with a second left in the period.
Simmons continued its momentum into the second quarter with a 14-2 run to open the period, fueled by a pair of triples from Zoldy, to open up a 38-14 cushion with 3:06 showing in the quarter. Kerstetter later converted a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 39-18 before the end of the half.
The Sharks maintained a 41-20 advantage with 6:58 left in the third quarter, before Clark put together an 11-4 burst, capped by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Kacey Legare (Chicopee, Mass.) to cut the margin to 45-31 with 1:35 to play in the quarter. Corsinetti gave Simmons a 49-33 lead before the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws with 29 ticks left in the period.
The Sharks later held a 54-38 advantage at the 8:01 mark of the fourth period, before the Cougars ripped off seven straight points capped by a lay-up from Ezemma to pull to within 54-45 with four minutes to go in the game. It was as close as the visitors would get for the remainder of the contest as Simmons scored 13 of the next 14 points to put the game out of reach, including nine from Corsinetti to take a 67-46 lead with 79 seconds left in the game.
The Sharks return to action on Friday, February 17 when they host Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at Moore Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.