BOSTON, Mass. - January 26, 2019 - The Colby-Sawyer women's basketball team earned a 57-47 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory at Simmons on Saturday afternoon. 

The Chargers improve to 13-7 overall and 5-2 in the GNAC. The Chargers will host Regis on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Simmons drops to 4-15 overall and 1-5 in conference play. 

Colby-Sawyer junior Tianna Sugars (Oxford, Maine) recorded her ninth double-double of the season with a team best 14 points and a game best 12 rebounds. Junior Lexie Hamilton (Sunapee, N.H.) finished with nine points and six assists. Junior Kristen Donaghey (Franklin, Mass.) added nine points and five rebounds. 

Simmons was led by Rebekah Carroll. She finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Denae Douglas pulled down nine rebounds, while Kirra Courchesne and Cassandra Stapelfeld contributed eight points apiece. 

The score was tied at 24-24 after 20 minutes, but Colby-Sawyer turned up the defense in the third and fourth quarters to outscore Simmons by five in each frame. 

The Sharks jumped out to a 7-2 lead following a lay-up from senior forward Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) at the 6:49 mark of the opening quarter. The Chargers responded with an 8-2 stretch to take a 10-9 edge with 1:54 showing in the first period. The teams traded the lead before the visitors took an 11-10 margin into the second quarter.
 
Simmons looked to get back in the driver's seat with an 8-2 run, capped by a jumper from Courchesne, to give the home team a 19-14 lead. The Sharks later maintained a 24-20 margin with 3:05 left in the second quarter, before Colby-Sawyer scored the final four points, including a lay-up from first-year Lydia Nattress (Winooski, Vt.) to knot the game at 24-24 before the half ended less than two minutes later.
 
Molly Phillips converted one of two free throws to put Simmons back on top at 27-26 with 8:35 to play in the third quarter, but it was the hosts last lead of the contest, before the Chargers went on a 12-3 run, including five points from Sugars, to take a 38-30 advantage with 5:17 to go in the period. Sugars later made a pair of free throws to bump the Colby-Sawyer lead to 41-32 at 2:20 of the quarter, before Carroll scored the final four points of the period to pull the Sharks to within 41-36 as the teams headed into the final quarter of play.

Phillips canned a three-pointer to pull Simmons to within 43-41 with 7:10 to play in the game, but Colby-Sawyer put together a 13-4 run, paced by five points from Nattress, to put the game out of reach at 56-45 with 76 seconds remaining.

Portions courtesy of Simmons
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