Women's Basketball Snaps Winless Streak with 69-56 Victory over Simmons
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Simmons (7-13, 1-7 GNAC) | 10 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 56 |
|
Anna Maria (7-15, 1-8 GNAC) | 19 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 69 |
PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College women's basketball team snapped a 10-game winless streak on Saturday afternoon with a 69-56 win over the Sharks of Simmons College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
The win boosts Anna Maria to 7-15 overall and 1-8 in league action, while Simmons falls to 7-13 overall and 1-7 in GNAC play.
THE SERIES
The win marks the third-in-a-row for the AMCATS in the series with Simmons having won the annual GNAC meeting in each of the last two seasons. Simmons last victory against Anna Maria occurred in January of 2013—Anna Maria leads the series 4-3 all-time.
AMCAT LEADERS
Junior Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) 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 assistant coach Trafficia Warburton did it in 2014 against Becker.
Junior Nicole Mareiro (Acushnet, Mass.) led all AMCAT scorers with 15 points, followed be Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, Mass.) with 14 and sophomore Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) with 13 points.
Taitt, Gauvin, and Russo all dished out five assists apiece, while senior Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) had a solid performance with 13 rebounds and eight points.
SIMMONS LEADERS
The Sharks saw a game-high 19 points from sophomore Presley Silvia (Wilmington, Mass.), while junior Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Classmate Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Anna Maria took control early on while holding Simmons to just one basket throughout the first six minutes of the game. During that time, Anna Maria 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 would 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.
Anna Maria capitalized on Simmons turnovers in the first half as they scored 14 of their points off turnovers.
Simmons cut the Anna Maria lead to eight points a minute-and-a-half into the third quarter as they scored the first six points of the frame. A layup by Lindsay Bond (Webster, Mass.) put the AMCATS up by 10, 35-25, and 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.
Simmons had a strong fourth quarter and outscored their hosts 17-16, including a 10-8 advantage in points in the paint.
FINAL COMPARISONS
Anna Maria tallied a 36.4 percent shooting effort on the day (24-66) to best Simmons at 32.7 percent (18-55). Anna Maria finished with a 21-17 edge in points off turnovers and topped the Sharks in second-chance points,14-7, and fast-break points, 10-4. Simmons held a 32-26 advantage in points in the paint and a narrow 17-16 edge in bench points.
Anna Maria outrebounded Simmons 47-40.
WHAT'S NEXT
Anna Maria is idle for a full week and travels to Rivier on Saturday Febuary, 13th, for their last road game of the season. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. Simmons has a quick turnaround and travels to MIT on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game.
