Hackett Resets Rebound Mark in Women’s Basketball’s 64-49 Victory over SJC 

BOSTON – Alexis Hackett sealed her spot atop the Rams all-time rebounding list as Suffolk women's basketball downed Saint Joseph's (Maine), 64-49, Tuesday night at Simmons' Moore Gymnasium.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 64 | St. Joseph's (Maine) 49
RECORDS: Suffolk (14-6, 6-1 GNAC) | St. Joseph's (Maine) (13-7, 6-1 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
A back-and-forth affair was present for the majority of the opening quarter. Jenni-Rose DiCecco's initial steal converted to a layup kept the Rams in front until a three from Grace Phillippon flipped the script for the Monks, 10-9.  

Emily Welling added a spark off the bench. The sophomore went on her own scoring run over the final two minutes, tying the game at 10-all, before putting in back-to-back buckets from the paint to give the blue-and-gold a 14-11 edge at the end of the first 10 minutes.  

Suffolk started the second stanza with seven straight points, four from DiCecco and a Hackett three, to force SJC to use a timeout 1:12 into the action. 

The Monks could not find the grove offensively, going without a hoop for nearly five minutes. On the other end the Rams kept pouring points in and went up by as many as 14. After Hackett's second triple of the day, Mike McDevitt called his team over for the second time in the quarter with 3:17 to play before intermission.  

Four quick points from St. Joe's out of the break sliced the margin down to nine. Hackett restored the double figure distance with her third hoop from three-point range, before the senior captain sunk an elbow jumper to send Suffolk into half time up 11, 32-21. 

The Rams found all the energy they would need in the locker room as they burst out with back-to-back buckets from behind-the-arc and the visitors used another timeout quickly. That huddle did not hurt Suffolk though as they continued to pile on the points, outscoring the visitors 25-7 over the third set of 10 minutes to build a lofty 57-28 cushion. 

SJC attempted a comeback early on in the fourth frame and used a 6-2 stretch over the first 3:22 to cut the deficit down to 25. The Monks made up more ground out of Suffolk's first timeout of the night, chipping the gap to 19 with 4:24 remaining on the clock.  

Hackett ended Suffolk's scoring draught at the 4:06 minute mark with her sixth long ball of the night. St. Joe's continued to comeback though, and pulled within 17 on a handful of occasions. 

Time played in Suffolk's favor down the stretch and the Rams went on to preserve the victory.    

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Hackett had a standout offensive output of 22 points behind an 8-for-17 showing from the floor and 6-for-12 effort from three-point range. Her historic performance came on the glass though. She finished with seven total boards, but it was her fifth of the night, which came at the 8:20 minute mark of the second quarter, that put her atop the Rams' record book. 
• Allie Lopes put together a double-double effort of 12 points and 11 boards with two blocks and one dime. 
• DiCecco had an all-around outing of 13 points, eight helpers and seven caroms. 
• Gabriella DeComo chipped in eight points, five boards and one assist. 
• Suffolk shot 38.5 percent (25-65) from the floor, 31.4 percent (11-35) from behind-the-arc and 50.0 percent (3-6) at the charity stripe. 
• The Rams outrebounded the Monks, 44-34.  

NOTEWORTHY

• With the win, Suffolk moved into first place in the GNAC standings. 
• Suffolk bested Saint Joseph's (Maine) for the first time since, Feb. 17, 2015, 68-51. 
• The Rams moved to 8-14 in the all-time series with the Monks.
• Suffolk and SJC played at a neutral site for the second time, first since the first-ever meeting Nov. 17, 200. 
• The Rams bested the Monks on a neutral site for the first time in program history. 
• The 64 points scored by Suffolk are the most against SJC since the Rams put up 79 in an 82-79 setback to the Monks Jan. 27, 2018. 
• Hackett became the Rams' all-time rebounder, surpassing the previously record of 879 caroms held by Johanna McGourty, who played from 1990-93. 
• Lopes recorded her first-ever double-double. 
• Lopes notched a personal-best in rebounds with 11 to her credit.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads to Quincy, Massachusetts, Saturday, Feb. 8 to wrap up its non-conference calendar at Eastern Nazarene. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.