BOSTON – On a historical afternoon, the Suffolk women's basketball team returned to the win column Saturday and did so in style as the Rams ran past Lasell, 85-63, and Chelsea Campellone set the program's scoring record during the Ed Leyden era inside Regan Gymnasium.
Campellone's thrilling performance helped Suffolk end a three-game skid to improve to 10-7 overall and 2-2 against GNAC opponents, while Lasell dipped to 9-9 on the season and 2-3 in league play.
There was no wasting time for Suffolk as the game tipped off and the host scored the first 12 of the contest with seven coming off the fingertips of Campellone.
Lasell got on the scoreboard at the midway point of the first off a triple from Deanna Barrett. The Lasers hoop did not put a damper on Suffolk's offensive spark, however, as the Rams went on to outscore the visitors, 11-2 before the final minute.
A traditional three-point play by Lasell's Morgan Church as time expired made it a 23-8 game in favor of Suffolk. Campellone could not be stopped in the first frame as the senior put in 13 of Suffolk's 23 points.
The second stanza was completely even as each team recorded 17, but Suffolk's first quarter scoring frenzy kept the Rams in front, 40-25, as the team's headed to the locker rooms.
Campellone finished the first half with 20 points. The 5-foot-7 forward shot 8-of-10 from the floor and went 4-of-6 on freebies to help Suffolk put together a 46.9 connection rate (15-32) from the field over the first 20 minutes.
In the first minute of the third quarter Campellone tallied five unanswered points as the Rams took a 45-25 lead. It was just up from there as the Rams went ahead by as many as 24, and took a 64-45 lead after three.
The fourth quarter continued to be the Campellone show, as she scored 13 to finish the night with a career-high 43 points. Campellone is the first player in blue-and-gold to surpass 40-plus points during Leyden's tenure. The Fall River, Massachusetts local used aa 16-of-22 performance from the floor and went 11-of-18 at the line to pour in more than half of the Rams points. Her offense was not the only highlight as she pulled down 13 rebounds to notch her seventh double-double of the season.
Caitlyn Caramello pitched in 13 boards to Suffolk's 55 total and the junior added seven points. Alessandra Quadri added nine points and four assists to the Rams' offense with Alexandra Nagri also dishing out four helpers.
Lasell was paced by Barrett's 18 points with Church adding 10.Suffolk will return to action Thursday, Jan. 28 when the Rams welcome Anna Maria to Regan Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. game.