The Judges split their two games this week, blowing out Simmons College 72-38 at home before losing 71-65 to Johnson and Wales University on the road.

Johnson and Wales 71, Judges 65

The Judges came close, but they were unable to beat the Johnson and Wales Wildcats in Providence, RI. The Wildcats led 16-10 after the first quarter of regulation. 

After a 19-18 second-quarter scoring edge, the teams went into halftime, with the Wildcats up by five. The Judges were outscored by three, 14-11, in the third quarter before outscoring the Wildcats, 25-23, in a high-scoring fourth quarter.

Despite a close score line, the Judges as a team were dominated on the box score. 

The Judges shot a low 35.5 percent from the field, compared to 47.1 percent by the Wildcats. The Wildcats edged the Judges 43-32 on the glass and more than tripled the Judges in assists, 16-5. 

On the bright side, the Judges took care of the ball, only turning it over 12 times, compared to the 22 turnovers they forced the Wildcats to commit over the course of the contest. 

A strong inside presence persists for the Judges, who combined for 32 points in the paint.

The Judges were led in scoring by guard Paris Hodges ’17, who was the game’s leading scorer, with 19 points, a career high. Hodges was able to do so with a shooting percentage of 50. Nearly half of her scoring came from the charity stripe, where Hodges was a perfect 9-9. 

Forward Sydney Sodine ’17 added 15 points, while center Maria Jackson ’17 neared a double-double, finishing with eight points and ten rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive side of the court. 

Judges 72, Simmons 38

The Judges protected Red Auerbach Arena, dominating the Simmons College Sharks, as they led from wire to wire.

The Judges opened with a 10-2 lead in the game’s first four minutes. They maintained that lead throughout the first quarter, which ended 17-5. 

The Judges stayed hot in the second quarter, shooting 11-17 from the field en route to outscoring the Sharks 24-6, giving the Judges a 30-point halftime lead, 41-11. 

Simmons responded well after halftime, outscoring the Judges 18-14. 

However, the fourth quarter was more like the first half than the previous quarter; the Judges outscored Simmons 17-9.

In a true team effort, nine of 11 active players scored for the Judges, with all 11 players playing at least 10 minutes. 

The team went 29-60 from the field, shooting 48.3 percent, vastly greater than Simmons’ shooting percentage of 31.3 percent. 

The Judges were led in scoring by Sodine, who had 14 points on 7-9 shooting, who also contributed a solid number of rebounds. Guard Frankie Pinto ’17 contributed 12 points, draining nine of them on 3-pointers. Hodges added 11 points, notching nine of them in the second half. Hodges tied for the team-lead with four steals. 

The Judges forced 24 turnovers, turning them into 23 points.  

Guard Kyla Gabriel ’17 also had a solid performance, finishing with six points, four assists and four steals. 

The star of the game, however, was Forward Emma Curnin ’19. The six  foot, two inch rookie-forward nearly finished with a double-double. 

Curnin put up eight points and grinded out a tough game-high of eight rebounds, both career bests. Thanks to Curnin’s tenacity on the boards, the Judges out-rebounded the Sharks, 41-29, for the game. 

This rebounding advantage led to a comparable advantage in second choice points, with the Judges cleaning up the glass for 21 points, seven times more than the lowly three second chance points of the Sharks. Because of game-flow, the Judges bench had time to shine. 

The Judges are now 4-3 on the season and are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. against the Babson College Beavers.

The team only has four more non-conference contests before they face University Athletic Association  conference teams.