NEWTON, Mass. -- Senior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) recorded her fourth double-double in her last five games with 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Simmons College women's basketball team in a 48-46 loss to host Mount Ida College this evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Mount Ida College Athletic Center in Newton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 1-13 overall and 1-8 in GNAC play, while the Mustangs win their third in a row to improve to 11-6 and 4-4.
Mount Ida took advantage of 21 Simmons turnovers with an 18-6 margin in points on turnovers.
Silva was 6-12 from the floor and also added six blocked shots for her 10th multi-rejection outing of the season for the Sharks, while picking up a pair of steals and handing out an assist. First year guard Jalissa Rodriguez (Waterbury, Conn.) contributed with 13 points on 5-10 from the field, including a trio of three-pointers, in addition to two rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot in 24 minutes off the bench. Junior point guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) chipped in with seven points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Sophomore forward Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H.) netted a game-high 17 points, including 11-14 from the free throw line, and added 10 rebounds and a steal for the Mustangs, while senior guard Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass.) dropped in 13 points pulled down three rebounds, came up with two steals and dished for an assist. Sophomore guard Alisa Benson (Middletown, R.I.) contributed with eight points, nine rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot in 22 minutes of action.
Simmons held Mount Ida to just two points over the first eight minutes of the opening quarter, while taking an 11-2 lead, including six points from Silva. The Mustangs ripped off six straight points, including four free throws from Martin, to cut the deficit to 11-8 with 56 seconds left in the period. Carroll netted the final four points of the quarter for the Sharks to give them a 15-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
Each team made just one field goal in the first three minutes of the second quarter, but a three-pointer from first year guard Carli Koffinke (Franklin, Mass.) capped six unanswered points for Simmons to give the visitors a 21-10 cushion with 3:39 showing in the period. Mount Ida closed out the half on an 11-3 run, led by eight points from Muir, including a three-pointer with 38 ticks left in the quarter to make it 24-21 before the intermission.
The Sharks maintained a 28-25 margin with 6:08 to play in the third quarter, before the Mustangs scored six straight points, including a trifecta from Muir at the 2:19 mark to give the home team it's first lead of the night at 31-28. Rodriguez drained a jumper for Simmons to pull it to within 34-32 with 10 seconds left in the period.
Benson converted a lay-up at 6:13 of the fourth period to give Mount Ida a 38-35 lead, but a trey from Rodriguez pulled the Sharks even at 38-38 with 5:57 remaining in the contest. The teams remained knotted with a 40-40 score at 5:22 before Martin scored the game's next four points to give the Mustangs a 44-40 lead with 3:34 to play. Simmons scored six of the next eight points, including a three-pointer from Rodriguez, to tie the game at 46-46 with 2:09 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Both teams had a pair of chances to take the lead over the next minute before Martin provided the heroics with a drive down the lane that resulted in a lay-up for the hosts with 1.4 seconds left, as the visitors were unable to inbound the ball for a potential tying or winning shot.
Simmons remains on the road, traveling to Providence, R.I. on Saturday, January 27 to square off with Johnson & Wales University in a GNAC clash beginning at 3:00 p.m., while Mount Ida heads to Weston, Mass. on the same day to take on Regis (Mass.) in a league outing that tips off at 1:00 p.m.