NEWTON, Mass – For the second consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game, Trish Liotta (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) led Mount Ida in scoring while continuing her hot shooting by leading the Mustangs past Simmons College by a final score of 61-55.
Liotta paved the way with 15 points and four rebounds while teammate and leading GNAC rebounder Angie Martinez (Taunton, Mass) recorded her 10th double-double of the season, racking up 11 boards, 10 points and five assists.
Mount Ida has now won two consecutive GNAC tilts in the last three days and improves their overall record to 4-14 (2-4 GNAC). For the Sharks, this is their 2nd loss in the last four games and they drop to 7-9 (1-4 GNAC) on the season.
In a tight first quarter that went back and forth between the two GNAC foes, both teams were tied at 7-all at the 4:53 mark before Martinez gave the hosts the 9-7 lead. After an offensive rebound by Ashley McAdams (Freeport, N.Y.) and then a missed layup by Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.), Brittany Crosby (Riverside, R.I.) nailed a jumper from the top of the free throw line to put the Mustangs back out in front by four, 11-7.
After a foul by Crosby, McAdams inched the Sharks back to within two at 11-9 with two free throws with just 3:52 remaining in the opening quarter. Both teams went back and forth looking to increase the lead at any time but tight defense on both ends of the court kept both teams at bay and Mount Ida would hold the slim one point lead after one quarter of play, 15-14.
Coming out of the gates in the second quarter, McAdams finished a layup to give the visitors their first and only lead of the afternoon at 16-15. Liotta, who in the last two games has totaled 36 points, drilled a three pointer from the corner of the floor to put Mount Ida back in front for good at 18-16. Martinez and Katlyn Jesse (Marshfield, Mass.) hit consecutive field goals after a Simmons timeout and then a turnover to build the Mustang lead to six.
Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.) who tallied a career high ten rebounds against Anna Maria just three days ago, put home a layup before Liotta and Marysa Dwyer (Quincy, Mass.) each tallied back to back baskets to extend the Mustang lead to 30-18.
A couple McAdams free throws down the stretch got Simmons back within striking distance at the half as Mount Ida led by seven, 33-26.
Another tight quarter just like the first two, Simmons came out of the break looking to swing some momentum back to the visitors on a Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) made layup before Alkinburg got the Mustangs on the board on the next trip down the court. The visiting Sharks would outscore the Mustangs in the third frame while heading into the final quarter of play trailing by just three points at 45-42.
Mount Ida opened the flood gates to begin the last ten minutes of play with a 10-0 run that put the Mustangs in front at 54-42. Martinez, Liotta, and Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass.) conducted the run on two Martinez layups, two Liotta free throws and a Muir made field goal and free throw.
Simmons inched their way back into the game with just 0:32 remaining on the clock on a Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) made layup but ultimately ran out of time.
Another solid outing by Liotta and Martinez, the Mustangs saw a stunning defensive effort by Dwyer who totaled five points and one assist while Crosby racked up eight points on 4 of 5 shooting along with five rebounds. Jesse tallied eight points in the win with Muir knocking down seven of her own.
Simmons had three players in double figures with Zoldy leading the Sharks with 15 points, and teammates Brasa and McAdams totaling 10 and 13 points respectively; McAdams recorded a game high 13 rebounds in the game.
Mount Ida will rest for the next week until they hit the road to Northfield, Vermont to take on the Cadets of Norwich University as part of a doubleheader with the men's team on Saturday, January 30th with tip set for 1:00 PM. Simmons is back on GNAC soil again to end their road trip on Thursday evening when they head to the other side of Newton to square off against Lasell with game time set for 7:00.