Late Run Sends Western New England Past Women’s Basketball, 66-58

BOSTON – Suffolk women's basketball hit a scoring lull and Western New England took advantage to come back and take down the Rams, 66-58, in both team's season opener Saturday afternoon inside a standing-room only Regan Gymnasium.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 58, Western New England 66
RECORDS: Suffolk (0-1) | Western New England (1-0)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jenni-Rose DiCecco put away the first hoop of the 2018-19 season on Suffolk's first possession and the Rams used that to gain an 8-4 early edge. The Golden Bears used back-to-back long balls to cut the deficit to one, 8-7, before the hosts rolled on a 7-0 spurt, which featured Natalie Fraioli's first collegiate hoop, and put the blue-and-gold ahead, 15-7.  

WNE took a timeout to talk things over, but it did not slow down Suffolk who took a 24-14 lead into the second stanza after DiCecco swished a triple at the buzzer.  

Suffolk maintained its momentum in the opening portion of the second and built an 11-point cushion at the midway point of the quarter on Hackett's third basket of the day. The Golden Bears gained their composure in a Suffolk timeout and cut the margin to three points, 30-24.  

A Hackett hoop broke up the visitors' run and DiCecco converted a steal into two quick points to regain the double-digit distance.  

The team's traded one freebie each and Western New England's persistence paid off with multiple offense rebounds leading to two points to turn it into a 36-29 Suffolk game at the intermission. 

Out of the locker rooms Suffolk rebuilt a double figure lead it held for the great portion of the quarter. The Rams started to cool off and the Golden Bears heated up, putting together a 9-3 run to pull within four, 51-47.  

Ed Leyden took a timeout to slow down WNE and initially it dies as DiCecco put away a hoop out of the break. The Golden Bears immediately responded through, with back-to-back triples to level the playing field at 53-all at the end of the third quarter.  

WNE flipped the switch over the first 4:34 of the final frame as it kept the Rams off the board to gain a 59-53 lead. 

Rachel Lasaracina broke up the lull with a trey to cut the margin to three. Suffolk could not rally behind the sophomore's bucket as the team's traded hoops and WNE remained in front the remainder of the way to lock up the 66-58 decision.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• DiCecco paved the way with a 22-point effort behind an 8-for-20 effort from the floor to go with five rebounds, five helpers, two steals and one block. 
• Hackett joined DiCecco in double figures with 13. The junior shot 6-for-11 from the field and led the way on the glass with six caroms to go with a pair of blocks, one assist and one swipe. 
• Gabriella DeComo matched Hackett's six boards and provided eight points thanks to perfect 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line. 
• Shannon Smith and Fraioli each contributed six points off the bench. Fraioli went 3-for-6 from the floor, while Smith shot 2-for-4. 
• Collectively, the Rams shot 40.4 percent (21-52) from the field and only missed one of their 12 free throws attempted. 
• The Golden Bears won the battle on the glass, 40-35.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Western New England met in the Rams' season opener for the first-time. 
• DiCecco posted her first double figure point outcome of the season and 20th of her career. The Falmouth, Massachusetts, product scored 20 points or more for the eighth time in her career. 
• Hackett had double figures in points for the first time this season and 30th time in her career.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

COMING UP
Suffolk is back in action Monday, Nov. 12 when it heads across the Boston Common for a Veteran's Day matchup at Emerson. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.