BOSTON -- After closing 2010 with a league win, Lesley opened the New Year with a 64-52 loss at Simmons in non-conference play Saturday afternoon.

Senior Kaitlyn Wechsler turned in a team-high 20 points for the Lynx, while classmate Brianne Caira, who closed 2010 ranked second in the nation in blocks, turned back a game-best seven shots to go along with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lynx won a 41-37 battle on the boards, but Simmons capitalized on 28 Lesley turnovers by hitting 8-16 three-pointers. Brittany Dolloff hit 3-5 from downtown for a game-high 22 points, while Leah Davis converted 2-4 three-pointers for 15 points for the Sharks.

Emily Fleming put the Lynx on top 2-0 with a jumper off the opening tip, but Simmons took the lead just moments later with a Dolloff three-pointer. Caira put the Lynx back on top 4-3 with a jumper at the 18:00 mark, but Jessica Thomas gave the Sharks a lead they would never relinquish with a trifecta of her own with 17:37 in the first.

Simmons (5-6) led by single digits for the remainder of the half, until a Davis three with 18 seconds left in the first put the Sharks ahead by 10, 28-18, going into halftime. Out of the intermission, Tony Price's club continued what turned out to be a 10-0 run bookended by Davis three-pointers, as her triple at the 18:00 mark of the second opened up a 17-point Sharks lead, all but sending the Lynx (2-7) away for good.

Caira mounted her own 6-0 run midway through the period, forcing a Price timout with his team up 46-35 with 10:13 left. From there, the visitors couldn't cut the margin to single digits in Jim Burfoot's return to the Lesley bench, as the Lynx dropped to 2-7 on the season.

The Lynx shot 17-43 from the field for a 39.5 percent clip, holding the Sharks to 35 percent shooting (19-54), but the turnovers coupled with Simmons' hot hands from downtown avenged Lesley's six-point win over the Sharks a year ago in Cambridge.

The Lynx resume NECC play, traveling to Bay Path for an 8 p.m. tip on January 13.