Streak Stays Alive; Women’s Basketball Stymies Mt. Ida, 72-51

NEWTON, Mass. – Double-doubles from Caitlyn Caramello and Alexis Hackett led the charge as Suffolk women's basketball rolled to its eighth straight win with a 72-51 decision over Mount Ida Saturday afternoon in GNAC action at the MIC Athletic Center. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 72, Mt. Ida 51
RECORDS: Suffolk (13-5, 8-1 GNAC) | Mt. Ida (3-13, 0-8 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first 10 minutes proved to be a run game with each squad taking their turns. Suffolk got things going to go up early, 7-2, before Mt. Ida responded with seven unanswered points to go ahead, 9-7. After a Rams 30 second timeout the visitors charged on an 8-0 stretch to regain the upperhand, 15-9. Once again the Mustangs responded with back-to-back triples to trim the margin to one, 15-14. Alexis Hackett tucked away a pair of freebies to send Suffolk into the second quarter leading, 17-14. 

Suffolk maintained its lead in the second stanza Thanks to a 10-3 Rams' run, the visitors grabbed their first double figure advantage of the contest, 35-25. Caramello tacked on three points to close out the first half and second Suffolk into the locker room with a 38-25 advantage. 

The Mustangs would chip away at the Rams lead in the third quarter, but would never build a big enough run to make a dent into Suffolk's 55-39 advantage. 

To open the final frame, the blue-and-god poured in the first 11 points to put 27-point distance between the Rams and Mustangs. Suffolk did not look back from there, cruising the rest of the way to a 72-51 victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Caramello paced Suffolk on both ends with 15 points, shooting 50 percent (7-14) from the field, and pulled down 12 caroms, including seven on the offensive end.
• Hackett, meanwhile, matched Caramello's boards output with 12 of her own, nine of which came on the defensive end, and tallied 10 points. The freshman dished out a team-high four handouts, had three steals and one block on the day.
• In just eight minutes, Marissa Gudauskas racked up 11 points thanks to a 75.0 connection rate from behind the arc. The sophomore shot 2-for-2 at the charity stripe.
• Katelyn Rourke provided nine points, six rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal to Suffolk's winning ways.
• The Rams shot just 34.7 percent (26-75) for the day from the field, an impressive 44.4 percent (4-9) from three-point range and 66.7 percent from the foul line.
• Suffolk held a commanding 61-45 advantage on the glass. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk's eighth straight win matches the longest win streak for the Rams since rattling off eight triumphs in a row Jan. 17 – Feb. 5, 2011.
• The second-semester opening streak is the longest for the blue-and-gold since winning 11 straight to start the latter portion of its schedule during the 2000-01 season.
• The Rams remain unbeaten all-time versus the Mustangs with their 13th straight win over Mt. Ida.
• Suffolk finished with 60-plus rebounds for the second straight game.
• Caramello put together her second straight double-double outing marking the fifth of the season and seventh of her career.
• Hackett's double-double marks the second for the rookie. 

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk rides its eight-game win streak to Johnson & Wales Thursday, Jan. 26 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.