BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) scored 24 points to lead the Simmons University women's basketball team in an 83-57 loss to visiting Albertus Magnus College this evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 4-11 overall and 1-2 league play, while the Falcons have won eight of their last nine games and improve to 15-2 and 3-1.
Albertus Magnus controlled the glass with a 56-46 rebounding advantage and committed just 10 turnovers, while holding Simmons to 29.2% (21-72) shooting from the floor.
Stapelfeld added four rebounds, a steal and an assist and was 2-2 from the free throw line to extend her consecutive steak without a miss at the line to 26 in a row. Senior point guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds and an assist, while senior guard Francesca Corsinetti (Johnston, R.I.) came off the bench to score eight points, pull down six rebounds and come up with two steals in 17 minutes of action.
Junior guard Shyla Osmond (New Haven, Conn.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season and was 10-20 from the field to go with five assists and four steals for the Falcons, while junior forward Rah Rah Thompson (Bridgeport, Conn.) posted her team-leading 12th double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in addition to three steals, a pair of blocks and two assists. First year guard Emma Pierson (Branford, Conn.) came off the bench to net a career-high 17 points on 5-7 from the floor, including 3-4 from three-point range and added two rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes of action. Senior guard Kristin Cunning (Hoboken, N.J.) knocked down four of nine trifectas to finish with 12 points, three boards, two assists and a steal and sophomore point guard Raegon Shirling-Davis (Waterbury, Conn.) led all players with 15 rebounds to go with three assists, a trio of steals and two blocks.
Stapelfeld kept her streak intact with a pair of free throws at the 8:02 mark of the opening quarter to give Simmons a 6-4 lead, but it was the last lead of the game for the home team as Albertus Magnus went on a 23-4 blitz to close out the half, fueled by nine points from Osmond, to take a 27-10 cushion into the second period.
The Falcons continued where they left off in the first quarter by ripping off the first seven points of the second quarter, including five from Thompson, to take a 34-10 advantage with 8:16 remaining in the quarter. The Sharks responded with 10 unanswered points, including eight from Stapelfeld, to cut the deficit to 34-20 with 6:07 showing on the second period clock. Osmond made a lay-up late in the quarter to push the visitor's lead to 43-24, but Simmons scored the final five points of the quarter, including a three-ball from Corsinetti, to pull to within 43-29 at the intermission.
Albertus Magnus scored 10 of the first 12 points to open the third quarter, including five from Osmond, to take a 53-31 margin with 4:30 to play in the period. Cunning drained a three-pointer to keep the margin the same with a 58-36 count at the 1:54 mark for the Falcons, before the Sharks closed out the quarter with five straight points, including a trifecta from sophomore guard Suzie Cosme (Framingham, Mass.), to cut the deficit to 58-41 prior to the start of the final period.
The Falcons left no doubt of the outcome with a 17-4 stretch to open the final quarter, led by nine points from Pierson, to give AMC its largest lead of the night at 75-45 with 4:24 to play in the game. Albertus Magnus maintained an 80-50 lead with just over two minutes to play, before Simmons scored the next seven points, capped by a three-pointer from Corsinetti to make it 80-57 with four ticks remaining in the game. Pierson canned a 30-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to make the final, 83-57.
The Sharks are in action again on Saturday, January 19 when they host cross-town rival Fisher College at 3:00 p.m., while the Falcons head to New London, N.H. to take on GNAC foe Colby-Sawyer College at 3:00 p.m. on the same day.