Bridgewater State Spoils Women’s Basketball’s Season Debut, 63-51

BOSTON – Suffolk women's basketball fell to Bridgewater State in its 40th season opener, 63-51, Thursday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 51 | Bridgewater State 63
RECORDS: Suffolk (0-1) | Bridgewater State (2-0)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
An even opening say the lead flip twice and the score level at 7-all 2:19 into the action. The Bears scored 12 straight to put the Rams in a 19-7 hole with 3:51 remaining in the opening quarter.  

Madi Mahoney got the Rams offense going on the blue-and-gold's possession, but it did not spark a Suffolk run. Instead the teams traded points and Bridgewater remained in front, 25-16, at the end of the first 10 minutes. Sydney Bradbury played a major role for the visitors in the first quarter as the floor general poured in 14 of the Bears 25 points.  

BSU built a 10-point cushion early on in the second stanza that it held onto until Amanda DeAngelis found her grove. The junior captain went on her own 6-2 run to pull the Rams within six, 33-27, with 2:21 to go before halftime. 

Suffolk limited the Bears to just a freebie over the final two minutes and Arlenis Veloz converted a layup to bring the host within two possession, 34-29, at halftime. 

Bridgewater scored the first bucket out of the locker room, but it was the Rams from there as they went on a 10-0 run to take a 39-36 lead at the midway mark of the third quarter. In that stretch, featured four points from Katie Kirsch, three by DeAngelis and a hoop apiece from Veloz and Mahoney.  

In a game of runs, the Bears responded with one of their one with six unanswered points to flip the script in their favor, 45-39, with just over four minutes to play in the third. 

The back-and-forth continued, this time Suffolk rattled off five points in a row to make it a one-point ball game, 45-44. Things stayed there until Kylee Piche converted a trip to the free throw line to two points for the Bears to give the visitors a 47-44 edge with 30 minutes in the books. 

See-saw action allowed Bridgewater to keep the advantage, 54-47, and Ed Leyden used his fifth and final timeout less than two minutes into the final frame of regulation.  

Scoring lulls on either side kept the seven-point gap still. The Bears figured out their draught first and capitalized to gain a 12-point margin, 61-49, with 2:24 left on the clock.

DeAngelis got Suffolk's scoring going on the Rams next possession, but it would be the last hoop that the blue-and-gold converted the rest of the way. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• DeAngelis had an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double with two blocks, one helper and one takeaway. She was the only Ram in double figures. 
• Kirsh supplied 14 caroms, eight points and two steals. 
• Maddie Stewart logged seven points, five boards and one steal. 
• Suffolk shot just 26.9 percent (18-67) from the field, 14.3 percent (1-7) from downtown and 58.3 percent (14-24) at the line. 
• Bridgewater, who saw two players in double digits in Bradbury (19) and Kylie Grassis (12), shot 30.9 percent (21-68) from the floor as a group, 23.8 percent from 3-point land (5-12) and 69.6 percent (16-23) at the charity stripe. 
• The Rams held the advantage on the glass, 53-51. 
• The Bears used Suffolk's 22 turnovers and turned them into 23 points. 
• Second chances played in the blue-and-gold favors with 13 points coming off the Rams offensive rebounds. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk played on its home hardwood, Smith Court, for the fifth straight season debut and sixth time overall. 
• The Rams opened their season with Bridgewater State for the first time. 
• Colby Casey, Veloz, Mia Fantauzzi, Colby Guinta, Ellie Moffat and Kendall Jacques made their collegiate debuts. 
• Mahoney and Kirsch played their first game as Suffolk Rams. 
• DeAngelis had her fourth collegiate double-double, first since Feb. 5, 2022 against Salve Regina. 
• Stewart matched a career-high in steals (1). 

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk has the weekend off to prep for its Tuesday, Nov. 15 tilt against Salem State. The Vikings are set to visit Smith Court for a 7 p.m. tip-off.