BOSTON, MA - Simmons College (11-5, 4-1 GNAC) topped Saint Joseph's (7-10, 1-3 GNAC), 65-57, in a GNAC Women's Basketball contest on Saturday afternoon. Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) paced the Monks with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals in the loss.

Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) added 11 points and Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) nearly notched a double-double, falling one board shy with 10 points and 9 caroms. Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) was held to just three shots from the floor and added 9 points for the Monks, who have now lost five straight.

For Simmons, Stephanie Fox '10 (West Springfield, MA) tallied a game-high 24 points and added 7 rebounds and 7 blocked shots for the Sharks. Julianna Eagles '10 (Quincy, MA) netted 18 and Liz O'Connor '13 (Milton, MA) chipped in with 13 for the hosts.

Simmons led from wire to wire in this GNAC matchup, as Eagles put the Sharks on top with a bucket on their first possession and held a 33-22 lead at the half. The Monks pressed back aggressively in the second stanza, outscoring the Sharks 35-32, but it was not enough to overtake Simmons in front of their home crowd in pursuit of the win.

Although Simmons did not relinquish the lead after gaining it on its first possession, the game wasn't without drama. The Monks trailed by three, 15-12, after Daigle made a shot at the 10:37 mark of the first half, but the Sharks opened up a game-changing 13-3 run on their next possession and led by a game-high 13 points, 28-15, after Eagles hit a three with 5:43 to go in the half.

Simmons left the door open for an SJC comeback early on in the second stanza, however. The Sharks missed their first eight shots with five turnovers in the first eight minutes of the closing half and the Monks pared down the hosts' lead to 35-30 with an 8-2 outburst.

After leading by double digits for a two-minute stretch, the Sharks' lead was diminished to just four points, 59-55, after Freeman drained a trey with 1:13 to play, capping an 11-2 run. Simmons went 4-6 from the line and Emily Thomas '13 (Cheshire, CT) made a jumper in the final minute, while the Monks missed a pair of three-point attempts and received a basket from Geel to close out the scoring.

St. Joe's shot 25.8% (16-62) from the field, 16.7% (3-18) from three-point distance, and 71% (22-31) from the line, while Simmons shot 41.7% (2048) overall, 50% (7-14) from beyond the arc and 62.1% (18-29) from the FT line. The Sharks held a 52-42 advantage on the glass in the triumph.

For the Monks, the field goal percentage and assists total (4) both rank as season lows. On a bright note, the 19 offensive rebounds, led by Geel with 5, ties a season high.

Simmons will return to action when they host Eastern Nazarene College on Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00 PM. The Monks will host Saint Joseph College of Connecticut on Thursday, January 28 at 5:30 PM in a GNAC matchup.

Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Simmons
1/23/10 1:00 PM at Simmons College
At Simmons College
SIMMONS 65, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 57
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.)
Allie Parent 4-12 6-6 14; Carolyn Freeman 3-12 2-2 11; Ashley Geel 3-10 4-7
10; Meghan Daigle 2-3 5-6 9; Casey Drake 2-4 1-4 5; Megan McDevitt 1-8 2-2
4; Allison Miner 1-4 1-2 3; Danyelle Shufelt 0-9 1-2 1; Jess Bridges 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 16-62 22-31 57.
SIMMONS
Stephanie Fox 7-17 7-10 24; Julianna Eagles 5-7 4-5 18; Liz O'Connor 6-8 1-2
13; Emily Thomas 1-8 3-6 5; Alex Acloque 1-2 0-0 2; Brittany Dolloff 0-2 2-2
2; Liane Lantagne 0-1 1-4 1; Meaghan Troiano 0-0 0-0 0; Jessica Thomas 0-3
0-0 0. Totals 20-48 18-29 65.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   22   35  -   57
Simmons.......................   33   32  -   65
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 3-18 (Carolyn Freeman 3-7; Casey Drake
0-2; Megan McDevitt 0-6; Danyelle Shufelt 0-2; Allie Parent 0-1), Simmons
7-14 (Julianna Eagles 4-6; Stephanie Fox 3-4; Brittany Dolloff 0-1; Jessica
Thomas 0-3). Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Simmons-Stephanie Fox; Liz
O'Connor. Rebounds--St. Joseph's (Me.) 42 (Ashley Geel 9), Simmons 52 (Emily
Thomas 7; Stephanie Fox 7). Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 4 (Allie Parent 2),
Simmons 10 (Meaghan Troiano 2; Brittany Dolloff 2; Liz O'Connor 2). Total
fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 20, Simmons 23. Technical fouls--St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None, Simmons-None.