WESTON, Mass. -- First year guard Jalissa Rodriguez (Waterbury, Conn.) netted a career-high 17 points to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team in a 74-58 loss to host Regis (Mass.) this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at Higgins Court in Weston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 1-9 overall and 1-4 in league play, while the Pride improve to 7-6 and a perfect 5-0 to extend their consecutive conference win streak to 118 in a row.
Regis shot 51% (26-51) for the game, while holding Simmons to just 28.1% (18-64) from the floor.
Rodriguez was 4-6 from the floor, including 3-4 from three-point range and was also a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line to go with three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes off the bench for the Sharks. Senior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) posted a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds in addition to four blocks and a steal. Silva was perfect on all eight free throw attempts to lead a team effort of 16-16 for the day.
Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) led the Pride with 21 points on 10-14 from the floor to go with seven rebounds, a block and a steal, while Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) netted 12 points in addition to grabbing a rebound, dishing out seven assists, blocking a shot and coming up with a steal. Shannon Hayes (Billerica, Mass.) contributed with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Junior guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) knocked down a three-pointer to give Simmons a 5-4 edge at the 6:33 mark of the opening quarter. The teams were later knotted at 9-9 with three minutes left in the period, before Regis scored the final six points of the quarter to take a 15-9 lead. The Pride later maintained a 19-13 margin with 6:53 to play in the second period, before going on a 9-2 burst to take a 28-15 lead with 3:40 remaining in the first half. The Sharks scored six straight points on a pair of three-pointers from junior forward Molly Phillips (Cranston, R.I.) to cut the deficit to 28-21 with 2:50 showing on the second quarter clock. Regis countered with the last six points of the half and continued its momentum with the first seven points of the second half to take a 41-21 cushion with 8:22 left in the third quarter.
The Pride later took a 50-28 lead after a three-pointer from junior guard Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) with 3:43 to go in the period. Simmons reeled off seven straight points, including five from Rodriguez, to pull to within 50-35 with 2:21 remaining in the quarter. Regis closed out the quarter by scoring six of the last eight points on a pair of treys from Russell to take a 56-37 lead into the final period. The Pride later held a 61-41 lead with 7:21 showing in the final quarter, but a 9-2 run from the Sharks made it 63-50 with 5:21 remaining. It was as close as the visitors would come for the rest of the contest.
Simmons will be in action again on Tuesday, January 16 when it hosts GNAC foe Johnson & Wales University at 7:00 p.m., while Regis hosts Rivier University on the same night at 6:00 p.m.
