Women's basketball closes out non-conference schedule with 77-32 win over Simmons

WALTHAM, Mass. – In their final non-conference game of the regular season, the Brandeis University women's basketball team had no trouble with Simmons College, as 13 of 15 Judges broke into the scoring column in a 77-32 victory in Red Auerbach Arena.

Brandeis (9-2) held the Sharks (4-7) scoreless over a stretch of more than 10 minutes in the first half as the Judges opened up a 45-14 lead at halftime. Senior Jaime Capra (Old Bridge, N.J.) and junior Lauren Orlando (Peabody, Mass.) outscored Simmons by themselves before intermission with 10 and nine points, respectively.

For the game, Capra led all scorers with 16 points, hitting six-of-10 from the field, including both 3-point attempts, and two-for-two from the line. Orlando finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Chelsea Dionne (Farmingdale, Maine) led the Judges with nine rebounds, while senior Kiersten Holgash (Easton, Pa.) and sophomore Lauren Rashford (Whitesboro, N.Y.) each had four assists to lead all players. Four different Judges tied for game-high honors with three steals as Brandeis forced 32 turnovers, 22 on steals. Brandeis converted the Simmons miscues into 33 points.

Simmons was paced by junior forward Lauren Kreckie (Braintree, Mass.), who just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, tied for game-high honors. She also led the Sharks with two assists and three steals. Sophomore forward Stephanie Fox (West Springfield, Mass.) also had three swipes for the Sharks.

Brandeis is next in action on Saturday at 2 p.m., when they travel to the Big Apple to take on University Athletic Association rival New York University, ranked No. 4 in the nation in the most recent d3hoops.com poll. Simmons opens its Great Northeast Athletic Conference slate in Newton on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Lasell College.