EC Women’s Basketball Falls to Suffolk, 73-59

THE BASICS 

Score: Suffolk University, 73; Emmanuel College, 59

Records: Suffolk University Rams (13-6, 5-1 GNAC); Emmanuel College Saints (13-7, 5-2 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Saturday, February 1st, 2020

THE LEAD: The visiting Suffolk University Rams took down the Saints in a thrilling Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday, February 1st . The Rams were led by junior guard Jenni-Rose DiCecco's (Falmouth, Mass.) game-high 18 points, six assists and five rebounds while teammate Alexis Hackett (Charlton, Mass.) tied the all-time rebounding record for Suffolk University. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The Saints were forced to play catch up early, as the Rams took a quick 12-2 lead within three minutes of play as Allie Lopes (Scituate, Mass.) connected on a long range jumper followed by a layup by Hacket. After a time out by the home team, EC was able to shut down the offense of the Rams for two minutes, 14-6, until back-to-back three-point jump shots from Gabriella Decomo (Portsmouth, R.I.) surged Suffolk ahead closing out the quarter, 22-10.

• Caitlin Barker (Plainville, Conn.) and Riley Lahiff (North Attleboro, Mass.) opened up the second quarter for the Saints with a pair of two made free throws, 22-14, but continued sharp-shooting from Hackett and DiCecco pushed the Rams to a 16 point lead halfway through the second, 34-18. EC's Loredana D'Agostino (Broad Brook, Conn.) and Lahiff attempted to be the spark for the Saints late in the quarter to head into break behind, 38-25. 

• Suffolk came out of the half ready to push the offense again as Lopes hit another three-pointer while the Saints were only able to score six points through four minutes off of a layup by Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) and free throws by Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.), 45-31. D'Agostino went on to control the post for EC, closing the gap to seven to close out the third quarter down by only seven, 50-43.

• Neither team connected on a bucket until 8:06 remaining in regulation when Jordan Hipwell (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) sunk a jump shot for the Rams. A flurry of turnovers were spread across the next four minutes of play before Lopes added another three points to her stats extending the lead, 56-43. Despite late-game jump shots by Korie Mathis (Duluth, Ga.) and Jamad Fiin (Boston, Mass.), the Rams were able to complete the conference victory, 73-59. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• DiCecco led all scorers with a total of 18 points along with six assists and five rebounds. 

• D'Agostino recorded a team-high double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds while Lahiff and Ramirez-Tejeda combined for another 22 points and eight rebounds. 

• Hackett's nine rebounds brought her to 879 career rebounds, tying the Suffolk University women's basketball record. 

• Suffolk led in every offensive category in the conference matchup, shooting 48 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc while the Saints only shot 36.7 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from three-point territory. 

UP NEXT

• The Rams will be back at home on Tuesday, February 4th for a GNAC matchup against Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 6PM.

• EC will be facing the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on the Andy Yosinoff Court on Tuesday, February 4th at 5PM in the first game of a Saints basketball double-header.