BOSTON, Mass. – Senior point guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) led all scorers with 16 points to pace the Simmons University women's basketball team in a 57-47 loss to visiting Colby-Sawyer College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action this afternoon at Moore Gymnasium on the campus of Simmons in Boston, Mass. The contest was the first between the teams since CSC joined the league in the Fall of 2018 and the first since 1994. The Sharks fall to 4-15 overall and 1-5 in conference play, while the Chargers improve to 13-7 overall and 5-2.
The Colby-Sawyer defense held Simmons to just 28.6% (20-7) shooting from the floor and the game featured nine lead changes.
Carroll also pulled down nine rebounds to go with four steals for the Sharks, while sophomore guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) contributed with eight points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist. Junior forward Kirra Courchesne (Wilmington, Vt.) dropped in eight points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked a pair of shots, made a steal and handed out an assist.
Junior center Tianna Sugars (Oxford, Maine) posted a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds and added three assists for the Chargers, while junior point guard Lexie Hamilton (Sunapee, N.H.) dished out six assists, scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds and picked up a pair of steals. Junior guard Kristen Donaghey (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal and first year guard Lydia Nattress (Winooski, Vt.) came off the bench to net nine points on 4-5 from the floor in addition to two rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
Senior Molly Phillips (Cranston, R.I.) canned a three-pointer to pull Simmons to within 43-41 with 7:10 to play in the game, but Colby-Sawyer put together a 13-4 run, paced by five points from Nattress, to put the game out of reach at 56-45 with 76 seconds remaining.
The Sharks jumped out to a 7-2 lead following a lay-up from senior forward Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) at the 6:49 mark of the opening quarter. The Chargers responded with an 8-2 stretch to take a 10-9 edge with 1:54 showing in the first period. The teams traded the lead before the visitors took an 11-10 margin into the second quarter.
Simmons looked to get back in the driver's seat with an 8-2 run, capped by a jumper from Courchesne, to give the home team a 19-14 lead. The Sharks later maintained a 24-20 margin with 3:05 left in the second quarter, before Colby-Sawyer scored the final four points, including a lay-up from Nattress to knot the game at 24-24 before the half ended less than two minutes later.
Phillips converted one of two free throws to put Simmons back on top at 27-26 with 8:35 to play in the third quarter, but it was the hosts last lead of the contest, before the Chargers went on a 12-3 run, including five points from Sugars, to take a 38-30 advantage with 5:17 to go in the period. Sugars later made a pair of free throws to bump the Colby-Sawyer lead to 41-32 at 2:20 of the quarter, before Carroll scored the final four points of the period to pull the Sharks to within 41-36 as the teams headed into the final quarter of play.
Simmons returns to action on Tuesday, January 29 when it heads to West Hartford, Conn. to take on GNAC foe University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at 7:00 p.m., while the Chargers host Regis (Mass.) on January 31 at 7:30 p.m.