Wellesley Basketball Takes Down Simmons In Vassar Tip-Off Finale, 68-39

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- First-year Lane Arkangel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) scored a game-high 16 points to lead Wellesley College basketball to a 68-39 victory over Simmons College in the consolation game of the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Vassar Athletics and Fitness Center.

Wellesley is now 1-1 overall, while Simmons drops to 0-2 early in the season.  

Arkangel, who earned a spot on the All-Tournament team after scoring 27 points in two games, grabbed a pair of rebounds and added three steals to pace Wellesley. Senior Kayla Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.) chipped in with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor to go along with five rebounds and six steals. Sophomore Emily Kopp (King Ferry, N.Y.) also finished in double-figures with 10 points. Jang and junior Zojajha Ayub (Belle Mead, N.J.) each totaled six steals in the contest, as a swarming Wellesley defense forced 30 Simmons turnovers in the contest. 

Junior Francesca Corsinetti (Johnston, R.I) scored a team high 12 points for Simmons, shooting 5-for-11 from the floor while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists. Senior Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and junior Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) had a game-high eight rebounds to go along with four points.

Corsinetti put the Sharks on the board first with a shot from behind the arc at 8:26. The Blue followed with a 7-0 run, taking a 7-3 lead on a three from Jang at 6:38. Simmons stopped the run, but Wellesley went on to score 12 unanswered points to take a 19-7 lead going into the second quarter. The Blue added 19 more points in the second quarter to take a 19-point lead into the break. Kopp scored six of her ten points in the frame, going 2-for-2 from the floor and from the charity stripe. 

Arkangel and sophomore Kendall You Mak (San Francisco, Calif.) combined for nine of Wellesley's 16 third quarter points, but the Blue defense was the story following the break. Wellesley forced 10 turnovers in the third quarter and collected seven steals. The Blue pressured the Sharks throughout the contest, scoring 39 of their points off Simmons turnovers and registering 20 steals. Wellesley limited Simmons to just nine points in a fourth quarter that included a 10-0 Wellesley run midway through the stanza that helped the Blue build their largest lead, 68-34, with just three minutes to play. 

Wellesley finished the game shooting 37.9% from the floor, with Simmons countering at 34.9%. Wellesley had a slight edge on the glass, 35-34, and a big edge in points in the paint, 32-12. 

The two squads will meet again on Tuesday, November 21, at 7:00 PM in Wellesley's home opener at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

2017 Vassar Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament Team

Leanne Corso (ONEONTA) - MVP
Madeline Frank (ONEONTA)
Julia Roellke (VASSAR)
Lane Arkangel (WELLESLEY)
Presley Silva (SIMMONS)