Women’s Basketball Takes Down Lasell, 61-50

BOSTON – Three different Rams recorded double figures as the Suffolk women's basketball team defeated Lasell, 61-50, Thursday night inside Regan Gymnasium.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 61, Lasell 50
RECORDS: Suffolk (15-6, 10-2 GNAC) | Lasell (5-15, 2-10 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
A see-saw affair came off the tip with the lead changing four times. Georgia Bourikas started the first consecutive hoops for the hosts with the seniors first trey of the day sparking a 9-0 Suffolk stretch that gave the Rams a 12-6 cushion at the midway of the first frame.

In the latter end of the first quarter, the Lasers outscored the Rams, 9-5 to trim the deficit to just two, 17-15, at the end of the first 10 minutes.

To open the second stanza the score would deadlock twice before it turned into the Suffolk show. Caitlyn Caramello got things started with a setup by Alexandra Nagri. Katelyn Rourke capped off eight unanswered Rams points with her eighth of the day to make it a 27-19 Suffolk game with 6:19 to play before half time.

With under four minutes to go before the intermission, Lasell cut the margin to five, 31-26, but the Rams rallied once again. Four points from Rourke and a bucket from behind the arc from Bourikas sent the Rams into the locker rooms up 12, 38-26.

A sluggish third quarter was present out of the half with neither team finding its gusto. At the 2:41 minute mark, Bourikas put in a layup to jump start an 11-run by the Rams, which included treys from Kelsey Schiebel and Marissa Gudauskas, and gave the Rams a 55-33 cushion heading into the final quarter.

Lasell dominated the final frame as Suffolk's freshmen class took over the court. The deficit was too much for the visiting Lasers though with the Rams holding out for a 61-50 triumph.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Rourke paced the offense, which featured three scorers in double figures. The rookie put away 13 points on a 4-for-7 day from the field and a 5-for-6 showing from the charity stripe. She contributed six boards, three blocks and one assist to her stat line.
• Bourikas had a day on both ends of the hardwood, going for 11 points and 11 boards, 10 of which came on the defensive end. The senior shot 4-for-6 from the field, including a 2-for-4 performance from long range. She chipped in two assists and two blocks on the evening.
• Schiebel rounded out Suffolk's double figure scorers with 12 points going 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-4 from three-point range. The senior also contributed five caroms and three handouts in the victory.
• Suffolk shot 44.4 percent (24-54) for the night and went an impressive 42.9 percent (6-14) from beyond the arc. The Rams struggled on freebies though, shooting just 7-for-12.
• Lasell, meanwhile, shot poorly all around, going 28.8 percent (17-59) from the floor, 27.6 percent (8-29) from downtown and 50 percent (8-16) at the line.
• The Rams held a monumental upper hand on the glass, outrebounding the Lasers, 52-28.

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk remains undefeated all-time versus the Lasers with the Rams' 10th straight win over Lasell.  
• The win marks the Rams 10th GNAC triumph of the season, marking the seventh-time since joining the conference contingent in 1996 that Suffolk has 10-plus league victories.
• Bourikas recorded her first collegiate double-double in the victory joining the ranks of Caitlyn Caramello, Rourke and Alexis Hackett this season with double-double efforts.

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk closes its homestand Saturday, Feb. 4 when the lone remaining undefeated GNAC rival St. Joseph's (Maine) visits Regan Gymnasium for a 1 p.m. contest.