PAXTON, Mass. -- Sophomore guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) broke the school record for season points and senior guard Francesca Corsinetti (Johnston, R.I.) became the program's career leader in made three-pointers for the Simmons University women's basketball team in a 74-66 loss to host Anna Maria College this evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play at the Fuller Center in Paxton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-17 overall and 2-7 in league play, while the AMCATS improve to 9-14 and 6-4.
Anna Maria shot 45.8% (27-59) for the game, including 51.6% (16-31) in the second half, while holding Simmons to 36.2% (21-58) and 23.1% (6-26) in the second stanza.
Stapelfeld led all scorers with 32 points on 9-18 shooting, including 6-7 from three-point range for the Sharks and now has 480 points for the season, which surpasses the former school standard of 460 set by Jennifer Caron in the 2004-05 season. Corsinetti drained a three-pointer with 6:16 left in the first quarter to give her 132 for her career to pass Jennifer Janiak (2012-15) to become the Simmons career leader in trifectas and finished the game with two three balls to give her 133 for her tenure. Senior Molly Phillips (Cranston, R.I.) finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal, while senior point guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) netted 11 points, grabbed three rebounds, handed out four assists, picked up four steals and blocked a shot.
Sophomore guard Amber Wilson (New York, N.Y.) led the AMCATS with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists and two blocks, while junior guard Sierra Johnson (Brockton, Mass.) scored 19 points, pulled down a pair of rebounds, dished out four assists and made four steals. Junior guard Sienna Johnson (Brockton, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points and two rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
Corsinetti knocked down a three-pointer 26 seconds into the third quarter to give the Sharks their largest lead of the night at 45-29. Simmons held a 46-32 advantage at the 8:54 mark, but Anna Maria's defense toughened up by holding Simmons scoreless over the next four minutes, while ripping off 13 unanswered points, including seven points from Wilson, to cut the deficit to 46-45 with 4:34 showing in the third quarter. Carroll later hit a jump shot to increase the Simmons lead to 52-47 with 91 seconds left in the half, before sophomore guard Franchesca Hammond (Worcester, Mass.) canned a three-pointer to pull the home team to with 52-50 before the end of the period.
Anna Maria continued its momentum into the fourth quarter, scoring 11 straight points, including six from Sierra Johnson, to give the AMCATS a 61-52 lead with 6:30 remaining in the game. Wilson converted a pair of free throws to push Anna Maria's lead to 63-53 at the 5:40 mark, before the Sharks scored eight of the next 10 points, paced by four points each from Phillips and Stapelfeld, to cut the margin to 65-61 for Simmons with 1:34 showing in the fourth period. It was as close as the Sharks would get as the AMCATS reeled off eight points in a row over the next minute to push their advantage to 73-61 with 31 ticks left on the clock.
Phillips scored the first eight points for the Sharks and Corsinetti hit a three-pointer to break the school record and give Simmons an 11-6 lead. Anna Maria came back with nine unanswered points, including five points from Sienna Johnson, to take a 15-11 lead with 3:07 to go in the period. The Sharks battled back to take a 19-17 lead following a Stapelfeld lay-up, before Sierra Johnson knotted the score at 19-19 before the end of the quarter.
Simmons opened the second period with a 10-2 run to take a 29-21 lead 7:11 left in the quarter, before the AMCATS cut the margin to 31-28 with 3:24 showing on the third quarter clock. The Sharks took control of the final three minutes of the quarter with an 11-1 charge, fueled by nine points from Stapelfeld, to give Simmons a 42-29 advantage with 42 seconds left in the opening half.
The Sharks will be in action again on Saturday, February 9 when they travel to Nashua, N.H. to take on GNAC rival Rivier University for 3:00 p.m. tip-off, while Anna Maria will head to Providence, R.I. on the same day to play Johnson & Wales University at 1:00 p.m.