BOSTON, Mass. - Junior forward Molly Phillips (Cranston, R.I.) scored 14 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team in an 85-59 loss to visiting Emmanuel College (Mass.) this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at Moore Gymnasium. The Sharks fall to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Saints improve to 4-4 and 1-1.
Emmanuel took advantage of 19 Simmons turnovers in the second half and outscored the home team, 28-2, in points off turnovers in the second stanza to spell the difference in the game. Simmons shot 46.7% (14-30) in the first half and a season-high 44.4% (24-54) for the game, while holding a 40-39 rebounding edge.
Phillips was 5-6 from the floor, including 2-2 from three-point range and added eight rebounds, two steals and two assists, while first year forward Julia LaMontagne (Amesbury, Mass.) came off the bench to net a career-best eight points on 4-7 shooting and dished out a pair of assists to go with a steal and a block. Junior guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) chipped in with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists and junior forward Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) hit for a career-high eight points in addition to seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
Sophomore guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda was 10-20 from the floor and led all scorers with a career-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds, a career-best seven steals for the Saints, while sophomore guard Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) scored a personal-best 22 points on 8-13 from the field and was a perfect 6-6 from the line to go with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.) contributed with 13 points, six boards, three assists, a steal and a block and senior guard Ryan Maynard (Bowie, Md.) dropped in 10 points, snared a rebound, handed out three assists and picked up a steal.
The Sharks opened the contest with a 6-2 lead, before a 7-2 run from the visitors gave Emmanuel a 9-8 edge with 6:04 to play in the opening period. Brandau later made one of two free throws to reclaim the lead for Simmons at 11-10 with 3:41 to play in the period. The Saints scored seven of the next nine points to take a 17-13 lead with 24 ticks left in the quarter and took a 17-14 margin into the second period.
First year guard Jalissa Rodriguez (Waterbury, Conn.) knocked down a jumper at 7:47 of the second period to pull the Sharks to within 21-20, but nine straight points, including six from Weaver, gave Emmanuel a 30-20 cushion with 5:18 left in the half. Simmons responded with 12 unanswered points, paced by six from Phillips, to take a 32-30 lead with 1:46 to play in the quarter. It was the last lead of the day for the Sharks, however, as the Saints closed the half with a 6-2 burst to take a 36-34 lead at halftime.
Senior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) scored on a layup 13 seconds into the second half to pull Simmons even at 36-36, but Emmanuel ripped off 11 straight points, including four from Maynard to take a 47-36 lead with 6:06 left in the third quarter. Simmons countered with six unanswered points, including a layup from Phillips to pull the home team to within 47-42 with 4:46 to go in the period, but it was as close as it would get for the remainder of the game. The Saints closed out the quarter with a 15-6 run, led by seven points from Fox, to take a 62-48 lead heading into the final period of play.
Emmanuel scored the first 10 points of the final quarter as part of a 15-2 run, fueled by 11 points from Ramirez-Tejeda, to take a 77-50 advantage with 5:08 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Weaver converted a layup to give the Saints their largest lead at 79-51 with 4:08 left, before the Sharks scored the next six points to cut the deficit to 79-56 with 2:40 remaining.
Simmons returns to play in 2018 with a January 4 hosting date vs. Wheelock College at 6:00 p.m., while Emmanuel heads to Medford, Mass. on December 11 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off with Tufts University.
