Women’s Basketball Stretches Streak to Six, Handles Anna Maria, 87-61

BOSTON – Suffolk women's basketball kept its win streak intact Thursday night as the Rams' well-balanced team effort was enough to take down Anan Maria, 87-61, inside Regan Gymnasium. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 87 | St. Joseph (Conn.) 61
RECORDS: Suffolk (14-4, 6-0 GNAC) | St. Joseph (Conn.) (5-14, 2-4 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's tandem of Jenni-Rose DiCecco and Marissa Gudauskas led the Rams to a 23-15 first quarter lead. The sophomore and senior were responsible for 22 of the host's 23 points. Things started out in Anna Maria's favor when the visitor's put away the first hoop of the night, but it was all blue-and-gold from there are the Rams rattled off nine unanswered points, with DiCecco and Gudauskas splitting the points in half, tallying four apiece, to take an 9-2 lead.  

From there Gudauskas knocked down back-to-back treys to make it a 17-7 Suffolk score. Down the stretch, DiCecco converted her drives into layups, which gave Suffolk the eight-point lead at the end of the first 10 minutes. 

Gudauskas and DiCecco continued to contribute in the second stanza with the former scoring six points early and the latter closing out the quarter with a couple of triples. Alexis Hackett got in on the scoring frenzy as well, notching nine points in the frame that Suffolk outscored Anna Maria, 22-7, to head into the locker room with a comfortable 45-22 advantage. 

It was a tightly contested, see-saw third quarter with Anna Maria trading hoops with Suffolk. The distance the Rams built the second kept the AMCATs at bay though as the hosts hung onto a 26-point lead, 64-38, after 30 minutes.  

Suffolk put on cruise control in the final frame and held of any comeback attempt from Anna Maria to take the 87-61 victory.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• DiCecco led a trio of players in double digits with 26 points behind a 10-for-19 performance from the floor, 2-for-5 effort from three-point land and the floor general did miss at the line, connecting on all four free throw attempts. She was one dime short of a double-double finishing het night with nine helpers to go along with four boards, three steals and one swat. 
• Gudauskas provided 20 points on an 8-for-17 showing from the field and a 4-for-9 effort from behind-the-arc. To go with her offense, she pulled down three boards.
• Hackett performed on both ends of the floor with 17 points and 11 caroms. The junior chipped in two steals, one block and one handout as well. 
• Allie Lopes had an all-around night as well with nine points, seven boards, three assists and a pair of takeaways. 
• Suffolk shot nearly 50 percent on the night, connecting at a 48.4 clip from the field (31-64), 40.9 percent (9-22) from downtown and 80.0 percent (16-20) from the charity stripe. 
• The Rams outrebounded the AMCATS, 40-33. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk started GNAC action 6-0 for the first time since lifting the lid on its league ledger with sixth consecutive wins in 1999-2000. 
• The Rams remain unbeaten versus Anna Maria all-time as Suffolk defeated the AMCATS for the eighth straight time. 
• Suffolk ran its win streak to six, marking the most victories in a row since stringing 10 consecutive triumphs together Nov. 27, 2017 through Jan. 18, 2018. 
• Hackett had her third straight double-double, ninth of the year and 24th of her career.
• Samari Winklaar posted a career-high in points (five) and rebounds (seven). 
• Lopes notched a personal-best seven boards.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

LOOKING AHEAD
Suffolk ventures to Standish, Maine Saturday, Jan. 26 for the battle with the Monks of No. 11 Saint Joseph's (Maine). Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.