POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Senior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team in a 68-42 loss to host Vassar College this evening in the Vassar College Tip-Off Tournament at the Athletics and Fitness Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The Sharks fall to 0-1 on the season and will play in tomorrow's 2:00 p.m. consolation game against Wellesley College, which lost to Oneonta State, 58-55, in overtime. The Brewers improve to 2-0 and will play Oneonta State in the championship contest at 4:00 p.m.
Vassar shot 45.2% (28-62) from the floor and 13 different players scored for the home team. The Brewers also owned a 43-32 rebounding advantage, while Simmons shot 33.3% (19-57) from the field.
Silva added a pair of steals, a block and an assist to her night for the Sharks, while junior transfer Molly Phillips (Cranston, R.I.) netted 10 points, grabbed six boards, handed out an assist and came up with a steal. First year point guard Jalissa Rodriguez (Waterbury, Conn.) contributed with eight points and two steals in her collegiate debut.
Sophomore guard Jackie Cenan (Laguna Beach, Calif.) came off the bench to score 10 points to go with three steals and a rebound in 16 minutes as one of five players to score eight or more points for Vassar. Senior guard Ariella Rosenthal (Mill Valley, Calif.) was 4-5 from the floor to score eight points, pulled down four rebounds and dished out an assist in 13 minutes, while junior guard Maeve Sussman (Needham, Mass.) chipped in with eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Brewers scored the first nine points of the game as part of a 19-3 first quarter to take control of the contest. Rosenthal scored six points to lead Vassar in the quarter. The Brewers continued to cruise in the second period, opening the quarter with a 13-4 run, paced by four points from sophomore forward Sophie Nick (Denver, Colo.), to take a 32-7 advantage with 4:40 left in the first half. Simmons outscored its host, 8-5, in the final minutes of the half, led by four points from Silva, to cut the deficit to 37-15 to head into halftime.
The teams traded baskets for most of the third quarter with the Sharks holding a 14-13 scoring edge in the period to close to within 50-29 after three quaters of play. Rodriquez dropped in six to pace Simmons in the quarter. Vassar reeled off seven unanswered points to begin the final quarter and increase its lead to 57-29 with 7:29 remaining in the game. The Brewers maintained their lead throughout the period and led by as many as 29, before Phillips drained a three-pointer with 19 seconds left in the contest to pull the Sharks to within the final count of 68-42.