BOSTON, Mass. – The Suffolk women's basketball teams held on to defeat Wentworth, 55-52, in a non-league contest played at Suffolk's Regan Gymnasium. Junior Meghan Black (Roslindale, Mass.) scored 18 points in the second half to give their Rams their second straight victory as both teams' records evened to 2-2 on the season
Sophomore Mary Garon (Auburn, N.H.) finished the game with 12 rebounds, while freshman Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, Conn.) chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Rams.
The Leopards had three players finishing the evening in double digits, including senior Kirsten Vallone (Avon, N.Y.) who recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards. Freshman Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) finished the game with a team-high 14 points, while sophomore Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) added 12 points.
The Rams used a 15-2 midway through the second half to help propel themselves to victory. Suffolk grabbed their biggest lead of the night with nine minutes remaining in the second half as a three-pointer by Black put the Rams up 46-35.
With four minutes remaining in the contest, Ruys would hit a pair of free-throws to give the Rams an eight-point margin, however the Leopards would crawl their way back into the game scoring the next seven points as they pulled themselves a basket away from taking the lead with 1:21 as sophomore Morgan Furman (Falmouth, Maine) hit a pair of free throws.
With 12 seconds remaining Garon would head to the line and hit her first free throw and an offensive rebound by Black kept the Rams in possession for freshman Andrea Suffredini (Milford, Mass.) who sunk a free throw securing the Suffolk victory with three seconds remaining.
Wentworth took a halftime lead of 20-17 as both teams struggled from the field over the first 20 minutes of play. Wentworth shot 25 percent, while the hosts shot 26.1 percent. However, the second half would be completely different as both offenses shot above 40 percent (41.7% for Suffolk, 43.3% for Wentworth).
The Rams held a 42-37 edge in rebounds on the game and scored 30 points off of 25 Leopard turnovers.
Wentworth hosts Simmons Monday night (Nov. 29) at 7:00 p.m., while Suffolk travels to Roger Williams on Tuesday, Nov. 30.