BOSTON, Mass. -- Simmons Basketball dropped a 54-38 decision to the visiting Mount Holyoke College Lyons in the Sharks first game in 2014 Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Sports Center. With the win, the Lyons move to 4-6 overall while the Sharks fall to 1-8. Kate Karraker led all players with 22 points.
In the first half, the Lyons took an early lead off strong play by Kate Karraker, who posted nine points and Amber Legare, who added seven. Nicole DeMarchena made her presence known in the paint, picking up five rebounds and adding six points. The Sharks closed the gap behind a late half surge from sophomore Jen Janiak (Chelmsford, Mass.), who went 4-5 from behind the arc adding 13 points as the Sharks closed out the half down 24-21.
Karraker continued to dominate in the second half, netting three treys, while Legare went 3-4 from the line and added five defensive rebounds. Janiak led the Sharks in the second half with eight points, while first year Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) added four.
During halftime, the Sharks honored 2013 graduate Liz O'Connor (Milton, Mass.) who moved into 6th place on the Sharks all-time points list with 1,043 points last season with the unveiling of the 1000-point banner. O'Connor is currently playing basketball in Germany and coaching a boys youth team.