STRONG THIRD QUARTER PROPELS SAINTS PAST RAMS IN GNAC TILT, 73-63

BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel outscored Suffolk women's basketball 22-12 over the third set of 10 minutes to defeat the Rams, 73-63, Wednesday night at Regan Gymnasium. 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Suffolk 63 | Emmanuel 73

RECORDS: Suffolk (18-6, 9-2 GNAC) | Emmanuel (19-5, 10-1 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Suffolk relied on the long ball to remain in the hunt over the first 10 minutes as four of the Rams' six field goals in the opening quarter came behind-the-arc. After the Saints recorded the first hoop of the day, Jenni-Rose DiCecco responded with back-to-back buckets from down to flip the switch in the blue-and-gold's favor, 6-2.

The early edge was not enough to hold off Emmanuel who outscored the hosts 10-3 to put the Rams in a 12-9 hole at the 4:03 minute mark.  DiCecco put away the first hoop for Suffolk inside the arc to jump see-saw action that keep the blue-and-gold within one of its cross town and conference rivals.

The Saints managed to couple a pair of buckets together to push their lead back to five, 18-13, but Mya Blazejowski knocked down a triple to trim the margin to two at the end of the first frame, 18-16.

Blazejowski stayed hot from three-point land. The sophomore switched the lead in Suffolk's favor in the first minute of the second stanza. One tied score and four advantage exchanges later, Blazejowski's third triple of the night put the Rams ahead 25-24.

On the Rams' next possession DiCecco connected from NBA range to extend Suffolk's cushion, which it built to as many as six, 34-28, with 2:47 remaining before the half. Over the last two minutes of the first half, Emmanuel went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe to send the teams into the locker room locked at 34-all.

After a scoreless two minutes out of the break, the teams swapped hoops, before it turned into the Saints show. The visitors from Fenway broke open a 40-40 tie with seven consecutive points that put the Rams in a 47-40 hole. Jordan Hipwell ended the scoreless stretch for Suffolk and Allie Lopes swished a three-pointer to cut the deficit back to six, 49-46, but the Saints went on a 7-0 scoring stretch once again to take a 10-point, 56-46, advantage into the final frame.

Suffolk made a comeback in the early minutes of the fourth quarter as it recorded six straight points to trim the distance to six, 58-52, with just under eight minutes to play.

For every rally the Rams made, the Saints responded to keep the hosts at a two-possession distance the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Emmanuel, who was paced Yuleska Ramirez-Tejda's game-high 26 points, 11-rebound effort, outrebounded the Rams, 45-35.
• Also in double-figures for the Saints were senior Madison McLaughlin (10 points) and junior Kayla Weaver (15 points).
• DiCecco's 19 points anchored Suffolk's offense. The sophomore added six boards, five assists and a pair of steals.
• Lopes had an all-around night with 12 points and seven caroms.
• Senior Mary McCarthy played well in the post for the Saints coming one rebound and point shy of a double-double with nine and nine, respectively. 
• Gudauskas completed the Rams' three scorers in double figures with 10 points, six of which came from behind-the-arc with less than two minutes to play. The senior also contributed five rebounds, four dimes and two steals.
• Hipwell, who provided four points, led the way on the glass with nine caroms.

NOTEWORTHY

• Emmanuel finished the night going 17-for-19 from the charity stripe to shoot a season-best 89.5% from the line.
• Blazejowski matched career-highs in points (9) and three-pointers made (3).
• Gudauskas matched a personal-best four set-ups.
• Lopes matched a career-high seven caroms.
• The double-double for Ramirez-Tejeda was her 16th of the year for Emmanuel.

WHAT'S AHEAD?

Suffolk makes the trip to Albertus Magnus Saturday, Feb. 16 for its regular-season finale. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM Emmanuel also wraps the regular-season on Saturday, hosting Colby-Sawyer College at 1:00 PM.

*Release courtesy of Suffolk University Athletic Communications