Sharks Swim Past AMCATS, 77-53

BOSTON, Mass. – Anna Maria College women's basketball fell to the Sharks of Simmons College 77-53 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. on Thursday evening. Simmons notched their third straight win and improve to 4-5 overall and a perfect 4-0 in league play, while the AMCATS fall to 2-10 and 0-5.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Simmons shot a season-high 44.6% (29-65) from the floor, while holding Anna Maria to just 28.8% (17-59). The Sharks also controlled the glass outrebounding the visitors, 50-38.

Sophomore guard Leah Wright (Summerville, S.C.) led the AMCATS with 14 points, including a game-high four three-pointers and added a rebound in 20 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) contributed with eight points, three rebounds, a block and a game-best six assists, while sophomore forward Shannon Hofmiller (Oxford, Conn.) led all players with 12 rebounds in addition to six points and a steal.

Sophomore guard Francesca Corsinetti netted a career-high 19 points to lead the Simmons to victory. She went 7-11 from the floor, including 3-6 from three-point range and added four rebounds and four assists, while committing just one turnover in 27 minutes of action. Junior forward Presley Silva added 14 points to go with five rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks in 21 minutes, while senior forward Liz Brasa posted a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards in addition to handing out three assists and blocking a shot.

 HOW IT HAPPENED

Simmons jumped out to a 12-2 lead, including the first eight points of the night, fueled by five points from Silva. Anna Maria later cut the margin to 14-9 following a three-pointer from senior guard Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) with 3:48 to play in the opening quarter. The Sharks responded by scoring the final six points of the period, capped by a three-point play from Corsinetti to give the home team a 20-9 lead after one quarter.

The teams played an even second quarter as Simmons saw eight different players score for it in the opening half of action, while owning a 35-24 lead at the intermission.

The Sharks were hot to start the second half, scoring 17 of the first 18 points of the third quarter, behind eight from Corsinetti to take a 52-25 advantage with 4:23 to go in the period. The AMCATS scored the next five points to pull to within 52-30 with 3:11 showing in the third quarter, but Simmons scored seven of the next nine points to restore its lead with a margin of 59-32 with 75 seconds left in the period. Russo knocked down a trifecta for Anna Maria to cut the deficit to 59-35 before the end of the quarter.

Wright canned a pair of three-pointers to begin the fourth quarter and bring the AMCATS to within 59-41 with 7:42 to go in the game. It was as close as they would get as the Sharks put together a 16-6 run over the next four-plus minutes, capped by a jump shot from junior guard Celina Jones to give them their largest lead of the night at 75-47 with 3:22 remaining in the contest. Anna Maria got no closer than the final score at 77-53.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The AMCATS return to Boston's Fenway area to take on Emmanuel College January 14 at 1:00 p.m. while Simmons ends a six-game homestand on the same day when they host GNAC foe Norwich University at Moore Gymnasium for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.