Women’s Basketball Rallies to Take Salve Regina Down in OT, 97-93

BOSTON – Colby Guinta tied the game with four seconds in regulation to force overtime where Suffolk women's basketball trailed by as many as six before storming back to take down Salve Regina, 97-93, in a pre-Thanksgiving matchup Tuesday at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 97 | Salve Regina 93
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-0) | Salve Regina (2-4) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Guinta scored the first six points of the night to give Suffolk an early 6-0 edge. The Seahawks came back and leveled the playing field at 9-all with just under six minutes on the clock in the opening quarter.  

From there, the score leveled three times and the lead flipped six with the last coming in Suffolk's favor when Olivia Verdile buried a triple to make it 21-18. Free throws by Olivia martin chipped the gap down to one 21-20 at the end of the first 10 minutes.  

Suffolk outscored Salve Regina 9-3 over the first two minutes to build a seven-point, 30-23, cushion. Aisling Crowley, Delaney More, Verdile and Claire Berkowitz provided hoops during that run. 

Six unanswered points by the Seahawks restored the one-point margin, 30-29, at the midway point of the second quarter.  

The Rams strung together a 7-4 stretch over the next two minutes that pushed the advantage to six, 37-33, with 3:34 to go before halftime.  

In a case of déjà vu, the Seahawks surged back again and got distance down to one, 39-28, and history repeated itself as Suffolk responded again. This time with a quarter-closing 4-0 stretch to lengthen the lead to 43-38 as the teams headed to the locker room.  

Out of the break, Suffolk built a nine-point edge, 49-40. The Seahawks surged back and leveled the playing field at 54-all with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter.  The Rams did their best to stay in front, however, Salve Regina's persistence paid off for the visitors and the lead flip flopped and landed in the visitors' favor, 65-63, at the end of 30 minutes. 

Suffolk found itself trailing by as many as five at the midway point of the final frame of regulation. The Rams remained behind in the final minute, 78-75, as the teams went hoop-for-hoop. In the final seconds, Guinta put her hero cape on and put up an attempt from behind-the-arc that landed in the netting to even things at 78-all with 3.9 seconds left on the clock. 

In overtime, Suffolk fell down by six, 89-83, with 2:43 left of free basketball. Once again Guinta stepped up and knocked down a trey. The Rams used that as momentum as Lauren Romito followed with a lay-up and Amanda DeAngelis converted a triple to the free throw line to push the blue-and-gold in front 92-91, with 40 seconds to go. 

Time was against the Seahawks, and they gambled with sending Suffolk to the line. Odds landed in the Rams favor as they went 5-for-6 at the charity stripe down the stretch to secure the win.   

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Guinta finished with 18 points on a 7-for-16 showing from the floor that included two crucial 3-pointers. She added four caroms, two helpers and one steal. 
• DeAngelis put together a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double with seven takeaways, three swats and a pair of dimes. The senior shot 6-fdor-9 from the field and 7-for-10 from the foul line. 
• Romito registered 14 points on a 5-for-8 showing from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the line to go along with eight boards and two helpers.
• Jordan Moreau was an all-around performer as well with 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The rookie went 5-for-9 on the night and 5-for-5 at the line. 
• Maddie Stewart rounded out the Rams in double figures with 10. The junior added four assists, three rebounds and one steal to her stat line. 
• As a team, Suffolk shot 46.5 percent (33-71) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-for-24) from downtown and 82.1 percent (23-28). 
• The Seahawks outrebounded the Rams, 53-44, and had five different players produce double figures. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Salve Regina needed overtime to decide a winner for the first time in the series history. 
• The Rams went to overtime for the first time since needing an extra session at Nichols Feb. 4, 2023. The blue-and-gold won that battle, 97-90. 
• Suffolk leveled the all-time series with Salve Regina at 7-7. 
• The Rams snapped a two-game skid against the Seahawks, defeating SRU for the first time since Feb. 5, 2022. 
• The Rams are now 3-3 when hosting Salve Regina. 
• The 97-point offensive output is the most points scored by the blue-and-gold since it dropped 97 in a 97-90 overtime win at Nichols Feb. 4, 2023. 
• DeAngelis had her third double-double of the season, 19th of her collegiate career. 
• DeAngelis matched a career-high three blocks. 
• Romito recorded a personal-best five blocks and matched a career-high two helpers. 
• Ava Thurman made her first collegiate start and grabbed a career-high two rebounds.  
• Moreau set new career-high numbers in points (16), field goals made (5), assists (3) and blocks (2). 
• Moreau went 5-for-5 at the charity stripe for the second straight game. 
• Verdile notched a career-high in points (8), field goals made (3), 3-point field goals made (2) and steals (2). 
• More scored the first field goal of her collegiate career and matched a career-high three rebounds.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is off for the Thanksgiving holiday and returns to action Monday, Nov. 27 at Salem State at 7 p.m.