PAXTON, Mass. – Senior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) (20) and junior guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) (12) each recorded career-highs in points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team to a 70-52 victory over host Anna Maria College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action this afternoon at the Fuller Center in Paxton, Mass. The Sharks improve to 1-4 on the season and 1-0 in GNAC action while the AMCATS drop to 1-5 and 0-1.
Simmons shot 43.5% (27-62) from the field while knocking down 12-15 free throws and held Anna Maria to a 31.1% (19-61) field goal percentage.
Silva nearly registered her second double-double of the season finishing the game with nine rebounds, while adding four steals, three blocks and three assists for the Sharks. Carroll notched her personal-best in points shooting 4-6 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. She also tied a career-best in assists with seven while contributing five rebounds and a steal. Junior forward Molly Phillips (Cranston, R.I.) chipped in with 12 points, an assist, five rebounds, and four steals, while first year guard Jalissa Rodriguez (Waterbury, Conn.) was the Sharks' fourth double-digit scorer, netting 11 points and picking up three assists and a rebound.
Anna Maria was led by Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) who totaled 14 points on the day, while Catherine Loney (West Roxbury, Mass.) pitched in with 10 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Simmons closed out the game with an 18-6 outburst over the final 12 and a half minutes to secure the first win the of the season. The Sharks scored 11 straight points, while holding the AMCATS without a point for over seven minutes during the stretch. Phillips paced the burst with seven points, including a three-pointer, as Simmons increased its lead to 63-46 with 5:53 remaining in the quarter. The Sharks closed out the game on a 7-2 run in the final 3:29 on seven free throws, three from Rodriguez, and two each from Silva and Carroll to secure the win.
Simmons started fast with an 8-2 run in the opening 2:41 with Carroll tallying a quick six points in less than two minutes during the timespan and Silva connecting on a layup. The hosts closed the gap with four points from Russo and a layup by Shannon Hofmiller (Oxford, Conn.) to make it 8-6 with 6:44 remaining in the opening period. The visitor's used a 7-0 run to balloon the lead to 15-6 at the 4:01 mark led by three points from Rodriguez and baskets by junior forward Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) and first year forward Julia LaMontagne (Amesbury, Mass.). Anna Maria responded with a 7-2 run of its own, before Carroll drained a jumper with 10 seconds remaining in the opening stanza to notch 10 points in the quarter for the Sharks. The teams went into the first break with the visitors leading 19-13.
After the teams traded baskets to begin the second period, Simmons extended its lead to 32-17 on a three-ball by Rodriguez with 5:41 left in the second period. The home squad stormed back with a 14-4 run to close out the half, powered by six points from Hofmiller, to cut the deficit to 36-31.
Once again, the teams exchanged field goals to open the quarter as the the Sharks maintained a four-point lead midway through the third period at 45-41. Simmons tallied 11 of the next 15 points on baskets by four different players, including LaMontagne as time expired in the quarter to build a 56-46 lead and 10-point cushion.
The Sharks return to the court on Thursday, December 7 as they travel to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Mass. in non-conference action for a 6:00 p.m. tip, while the AMCATS hit the road to Framingham State University in non-conference tilt on the same day and time in Framingham, Mass.