Women’s Basketball Wins Seventh Straight, Defeats Nichols, 88-79

DUDLEY, Mass. – Out of a 63-all tie to start the fourth quarter Suffolk women's basketball outscored Nichols, 25-16, to take down the Bison, 88-79 in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at the Nichols Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. The victory is the Rams seventh in a row, the longest win streak since stringing 10 victories together Nov. 27, 2017-Jan. 25, 2018.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 88 | Nichols 79
RECORDS: Suffolk (18-5, 11-3 CCC) | Nichols (11-12, 6-8 CCC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The game started with 8-0 runs from both sides to see things even at 8-all three minutes into the action. Suffolk started the scoring with three points from Jordan Moreau and Amanda DeAngelis and a pair of points by Lauren Romito before the Bison responded with back-to-back triples from Abrianna Vazquez.  

Full-court Bison pressure caused 11 Rams turnovers that turned into 10 Nichols points in the final seven minutes of the opening frame. That tight defense caused the lead to flip flop six times. Thankfully, the last exchange was in Suffolk's favor when Allison Bono banked in a layup at the 36-second mark to push the blue-and-gold ahead, 22-20.

Suffolk controlled the pace of play in the second as it leapt ahead to a 30-22 advantage behind an 8-2 stretch that featured four points from Romito and two each by Aisling Crowley and Madi Mahoney.  

Nichols knocked the deficit down to a four, 35-31, with 2:25 to go before half time, but the Rams closed out the second quarter with five unanswered points, a Mahoney layup and a tradition 3-point play by Crowely, to take its largest lead of the afternoon, 40-31, into the locker room. 

Moreau buried her second trifecta of the day on the Rams first possession of the third quarter to give the blue-and-gold a 12-point edge, 43-31. Suffolk stayed in front by double figures, 49-38, with just over seven minutes left in the third.  

Nichols used a timeout to gain composure. The huddle helped the host as it went on a 12-2 run to trim the gap to three, 51-48, at the midway point of the third frame. 

A 7-3 Suffolk stretch restored a seven-point, 58-51 margin in Suffolk's favor before the Bison compiled another 12-2 spurt, its second of the quarter, to go up, 63-60, with 59 seconds on the clock. 

A freebie by Moreau and a backdoor layup from Crowley leveled the playing field at 63 as the game headed to the fourth. 

Suffolk found itself in a five-point hole, 70-65, two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Rams rolled off 12 consecutive points to grab a 77-70 cushion with 4:38 left on the clock. That stretch saw six points from Romito and DeAngelis.  

See-saw action consumed the remainder of the regulation. Thanks to its upperclassmen's offensive output earlier in the quarter and free throw shooting down the stretch, Suffolk prevailed victories.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• DeAngelis compiled a 23-point, 19-rebound double-double with four assists and four steals. 
• Romito provided 20 points on an 8-for-14 showing from the field. She added seven caroms, four handouts and three blocks. 
• Moreau logged 11 points on a 4-for-6 effort from the floor that included a 2-for-4 effort from behind-the-arc. 
• Crowley contributed 10 points, five boards and three helpers. The junior shot 4-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe. 
• Colby Guinta had an all-around effort of nine points, nine rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. 
• Mahoney recorded nine points and six boards. 
• Suffolk outrebounded Nichols, 61-42. 
• The Rams poured in 52 points in the paint. 
• Nichols turned Suffolk's 38 turnovers into 42 points.  

NOTEWORTHY

• With seven straight victories Suffolk is on its longest win streak since stringing 10 wins in a row Nov. 27, 2017-Jan. 25, 2018.
• DeAngelis had her sixth consecutive double-double, 17th of the season and 33rd of her collegiate career.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk takes its win streak to Biddeford, Maine Wednesday, Feb. 14. The Valentine's Day contest at the University of New England is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.