BOSTON, Mass. -- First year guard Carli Koffinke (Franklin, Mass.) netted a career-high 16 points for the Simmons College women's basketball team in a 68-55 loss to visiting Regis (Mass.) this evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 2-17 overall and 2-12 in league play, while the Pride have won six of their last seven to improve to 14-8 and 11-2.
Regis shot 44.3% (27-61), including 50% (15-30) in the second half, while holding Simmons to 34.4% (21-61).
Senior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) recorded her sixth straight double-double and 11th of the year with 16 points and 10 boards to go with three steals, a block and an assist for the Sharks, while first year guard Carli Koffinke (Franklin, Mass.) netted a career-high 16 points, including four three-pointers, to go with three rebounds, a steal and an assist in 22 minutes off the bench.
Senior forward Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) posted a monster double-double of 30 points and 16 rebounds and was 13-16 from the floor and 4-5 from the line to go with four blocks, two steals and an assist to lead the Pride. Junior forward Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.) contributed with 12 points, six assists, three rebounds and a steal.
Regis scored the first nine points of the night, including five from D'Angelo, before a three-pointer from junior forward Molly Phillips (Cranston, R.I.) put Simmons on the board at the 6:37 mark of the first quarter. The trey sparked an 8-0 run for the home team as it pulled to within a point following a three-ball from Koffinke to make it 9-8 with 2:38 showing in the opening period. The Pride closed out the quarter with six of the next eight points to take a 15-10 lead.
Regis continued its momentum into the second quarter with seven unanswered points to take a 22-10 advantage with 7:26 to play in the first half. The Sharks put together a 9-2 burst, paced by five points from Koffinke, to cut the deficit to 24-19 with 4:42 to go in the quarter. The Pride answered with five straight points, before first year guard Jalissa Rodriguez (Waterbury, Conn.) canned a three-pointer to bring Simmons to within 31-24 at the end of the half.
Regis continued its early quarter scoring trend with seven of the first nine points of the third quarter, including five from Stone, to take a 38-26 cushion at 8:09, but Silva netted the next four points for the Sharks to make it 38-30 with 7:11 to play in the period. Junior guard Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) scored five points during a 9-2 burst to increase the Pride advantage to 47-32 with 3:56 left in the quarter, before they took a 54-41 lead into the final quarter of play.
Silva converted a lay-up at the 7:28 mark of the fourth quarter to pull Simmons to within 58-46, but it was as close as the home team would get for the rest of the night. Regis ripped off six straight points to take its biggest lead of the contest at 64-46, before the Sharks closed out the game on a 9-4 run to make it a 68-55 final.
Simmons returns to action on Saturday, February 10 when it heads across the river to play Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a 12:00 p.m. Cambridge tip-off, while the Pride return to Boston on the same day to take on GNAC foe Suffolk University at 1:00 p.m.