MOUNT IDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Athletic Center, Newton, Mass.

FINAL:              SUFFOLK 65, MOUNT IDA 56

NEWTON, Mass. --  Freshman Jenni-Rose DiCecco (Falmouth, Mass.) scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists to lead three players in double figures as Suffolk posted a 65-56 Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory over Mount Ida Saturday afternoon at the Athletic Center.

The visiting Rams (16-5, 9-3 GNAC) scored the first six points of the contest and jumped out to a 16-10 advantage after the opening quarter of action, but the host Mustangs (12-9, 5-7 GNAC) used a 9-5 run in the opening 5:57 of the second stanza to pull to within two (21-19) on a lay-in by sophomore Alisa Benson (Middletown, R.I.).  Suffolk responded with consecutive three-pointers from DiCecco, senior Georgia Bourikas (Hull, Mass.) and junior Marissa Gudauskas (Bolton, Conn.) to push their edge to 11 before settling for a 33-24 lead at the break, as the visitors extended that margin to 18 points (46-28) in the third quarter and took a 50-37 advantage into the final frame.

Mount Ida opened the fourth stanza on a 9-4 run to whittle its deficit to eight (54-46) on a lay-in and subsequent free throw by senior Jaime Moscato (Taunton, Mass.) with 4:56 remaining, and after the Rams regained a 12-point edge on a DiCecco free throw just over two minutes later, the Mustangs again crept back to within eight (59-51) on senior Breanna Muir's (Wareham, Mass.) lay-in with 1:28 to play.  Two free throws each by DiCecco and Bourikas helped ice the visitors' triumph, as the hosts came no closer than the final score in the closing minute of action.

Sophomore Alexis Hackett (Charlton, Mass.) recorded a double-double effort of 17 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks in the win for Suffolk, which received 14 points, six boards, four assists and a pair of steals from Bourikas.  Gudauskas added six points for the Rams, who shot 39 percent (22-57) from the field overall and connected for half of their total field goal output (11) from three-point range. Including a combined seven treys from Bourikas and DiCecco.  The visitors also converted 14 turnovers into 18 points and recorded eight blocked shots on the day.

Muir scored 16 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists in the setback for Mount Ida, which received 14 points and seven boards from sophomore Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H.).  Moscato added 13 points and five caroms for the Mustangs, who received seven points, eight rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists from senior Imani Bumpus (Dedham, Mass.).  Benson collected five boards for the hosts, who shot 34 percent (21-62) from the field overall but just 2-of-19 from three-point range for the contest, as Mount Ida held a 42-40 rebounding edge and outscored Suffolk in the paint by a 32-20 margin.

Mount Ida heads to Northfield, Vt. on Tuesday afternoon to take on Norwich in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference outing that tips-off at 5:00 p.m., while Suffolk travels to Standish, Maine on Tuesday evening to square off with Saint Joseph's (Maine) in a GNAC clash beginning at 6:00 p.m.