By Simmons Athletics
Sophomore forward Presley Silva scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Simmons College women’s basketball team in a 69-56 loss to host Anna Maria College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference game earlier this week at Fuller Center in Paxton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 7-13 overall and 1-7 in league play, while the AMCATS improve to 7-15 and 1-8.
Anna Maria owned a 47-40 advantage on the glass and forced Simmons into 29 turnovers for the day.
Silva was 8-12 from the floor and added eight rebounds, a block and an assist for the Sharks. Junior forward Liz Brasa posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds in addition to four assists and a block, while classmate Ashley McAdams chipped in with 10 points, four boards, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot off the bench.
Junior Christina Gauvin finished with a non-traditional double-double of 11 points and 11 steals to lead the AMCATS. She becomes the first Anna Maria player to record a double-double in those two categories since Trafficia Warburton did it in 2014 against Becker.
Junior Nicole Mareiro came off the bench to lead all AMCAT scorers with 15 points to go with seven rebounds, four steals and a block, followed be Deja Taitt with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists and a steal. Sophomore Kristina Russo contributed with 13 points, seven boards, five helpers and three steals.
Anna Maria took control early on while holding Simmons to just one basket throughout the first six minutes of the game. During that time, the home team was able to build a double-digit lead, 12-2, at the 4:16 mark.
Simmons responded with a 6-0 run of their own which concluded in a layup by Brasa to bring Simmons within four, 12-8. Anna Maria closed out the quarter with a 7-2 stretch to lead by nine, 19-10, entering the second quarter.
The second frame progressed in similar fashion, as Anna Maria led by at least seven points for the entire half. A pair of free-throws by Taitt with 1:07 on the clock gave the AMCATS their largest lead of the half, a 14-point advantage at 33-19.
A single free-throw by McAdams at the other end of the court set the halftime score at 33-20.
Simmons cut the Anna Maria lead to eight points a minute-and-a-half into the third quarter as the Sharks scored the first six points of the frame. A layup by Lindsay Bond put the AMCATS up by 10, 35-25, and they maintained the double-digit lead for the remainder of the time. A three-pointer by Taitt at the 4:52 mark gave Anna Maria their largest lead of the day at 43-25.
The AMCATS maintained a 58-41 advantage with 8:39 to play in the game, before Simmons started to chip away at the deficit. The Sharks outscored Anna Maria, 13-7 over the next seven minutes, capped by a pair of free throws from Brasa to pull them to within 65-54 with 1:12 remaining in the contest, but could get no closer the rest of the way.
Simmons returned to the court to take on MIT in Cambridge, Mass. on Tuesday, Feb. 9 for a 7 p.m. game. Results were not available at time of print.
