Blue Basketball Battles to 43-35 Win Over Simmons

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College basketball held on to take a 43-35 victory over visiting Simmons College in a non-conference contest on Wednesday evening at Gracia Mangano Martore '73 Court. The result nets the Blue their first victory of the 2015-16 season, as they improve to 1-2.  Simmons is now 0-2 on the year.

Senior Chelsi Scott (Portland, Mich.) scored a team-high 12 points for the Blue. First year Zojajha Ayub (Belle Mead, N.J.) chipped in with seven points and six rebounds, while junior Ailis Hanley (Cranston, R.I.) added six points, five boards, two assists, three steals and a pair of blocks. Sophomores Kayla Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.) and Chelsea Brown (San Jose, Calif.) tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds each.

Junior Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) led all scorers with 14 points for the Sharks. Zoldy also came away with six rebounds and a pair of steals in the contest. First year Francesca Corsinetti (Johnston, R.I.) chipped in with seven points, while junior Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) recorded a game-high with eight rebounds. Junior Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) also added six points and six rebounds.

Wellesley got out to a 7-4 lead following a low-scoring first quarter. A triple from Corsinetti tied the contest just over a minute into the second, before Simmons took their first lead of the night, 9-7, on a layup from Silva. The Blue countered quickly, as a bucket from Scott tied the score at 9-all at 7:06. 

The contest remained tied at 9-9 until Brasa knocked down a jumper with just under four minutes to play until the half. The Blue again mounted a quick response, taking a 12-11 lead on their next possession when Ayub buried a three-pointer. Ayub's bucket ignited a 10-2 Wellesley run to end the second quarter, capped by a three from senior Alex Berman (Tucson, Ariz.), to send the Blue into the break with a 19-13 advantage.

Wellesley continued to build their lead in the third quarter, holding the Sharks to just four points while adding 13 more of their own to take a 32-17 lead heading into the fourth.

Zoldy and the Sharks bounced back in the final frame, outscoring the Blue 18-11 behind 12 fourth quarter points from the junior guard. With the Blue holding their biggest lead of the night, 36-19, with 8:57 remaining, Simmons went on a 10-2 run to trim the deficit back to single digits, 38-29. Zoldy scored eight points as part of the fourth quarter run, capping the streak with an and-one at 2:44. Simmons continued to chip away but got no closer than six points, 41-25, with 20 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Blue will play this weekend at the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament in Milton, Mass., opening with at 1:00 PM contest on Saturday afternoon versus Trinity (Conn.). Simmons will host Wheelock in the team's home opener next Tuesday at 7:00 PM.