Simmons Edges Women's Hoops 54-51

BOSTON, Mass. – Lasell College fell just short to Simmons College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action Tuesday evening at Moore Gymnasium. The Lasers drop to 3-6 and 0-2 in conference play, while the Sharks improve to 2-5 overall and 2-0 in the GNAC.

Junior guard Morgan Church (New London, N.H.) led the Lasers with 11 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and a game-high three steals, while sophomore guard Taylor Hughey (Redding, Calif.) came off the bench to net 11 points and grab a rebound.

Senior forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) posted a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds, and classmate Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) netted a game-high 15 points to lead the Sharks.

Simmons controlled the boards with a 47-29 rebounding advantage, including 26-11 in the second half and held Lasell to just 32.8% (20-61) shooting from the floor, including 18.5% (5-27) from three-point range.

Brasa was 8-10 from the line for the Sharks and added a pair of blocked shots and a steal, while McAdams matched her career high for points on 5-8 from the floor in addition to pulling down eight rebounds and making a steal. Junior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) contributed with 10 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. 

Simmons owned a 46-38 lead with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter following four straight points from Brasa, but Lasell put together a 9-1 run over the next three and a half minutes, led by five from Church, to knot the score at 47-47 with 3:39 showing on the clock. Junior guard Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) hit a jumper at 2:29 to give the Sharks the lead for good at 49-47. Church later cut the deficit to 52-51 for the Lasers with a layup coming with 24 ticks left in the contest, but Zoldy sank a pair of free throws to bump the home team's margin to 54-51. Sophomore guard Becca Fenton's (East Hartford, Conn.) last second three-point try was off the mark and Simmons held on for the victory.

Lasell jumped out to a 7-3 lead following a Dana Ross (East Haven, Conn.) layup at the 5:39 mark of the opening quarter. The Sharks scored the next four points to tie the game at 7-7, before the team's ended the period with a 9-9 deadlock.

Hughey later knocked down one of her three trifectas for the game to give the Lasers a 16-13 margin with 5:54 left in the second period, before Simmons reeled off six straight points over the next three-plus minutes to take a 19-16 lead with 2:27 to go in the first half. Fenton drained a three-pointer to tie the game with 2:11 to play in the quarter, but sophomore guard Rebekah Carroll (Londonderry, N.H.) converted a layup just before the end of the period to give the Sharks a 21-19 lead.

The Simmons defense held the visitors without a point over the opening 3:13 of play, while scoring the first four points of the third quarter to take a 25-19 lead with 7:48 showing. Junior forward Brianna Hoffman (Milford, N.H.) netted the first points of the half for the Lasers with a jumper to pull them to within 25-21 at 6:47. The Sharks later took a 31-23 cushion after a pair of Brasa free throws with 4:04 left in the period, but junior forward Madison Cota (Bellows Falls, Vt.) made a layup and Hoffman stole the inbounds pass and scored a layup of her own to give Lasell four points in seven seconds and cut the margin to 31-27. Simmons answered with five straight points, including a jumper from first year forward Kirra Courchesne (Wilmington, Vt.) to take its largest lead of the night at 36-27 with 34 seconds to play in the quarter. Hughey kept the Lasers close with a three-ball to end the period facing a six-point deficit.

Hughey later hit a three to pull Lasell to within 38-36 at the 8:27 mark of the fourth quarter, but the Sharks responded with eight of the next 10 points.

The Lasers head to Paxton, Mass. to compete in the earlier half of a GNAC doubleheader on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., while Simmons returns to action on the same day when it hosts GNAC foe Mount Ida College at 2:00 p.m.

Recap Courtesy of Simmons College Sports Information