Women’s Basketball Homestand Continues Thursday vs. Lasell

BOSTON – In the midst of a three-game homestand, the Suffolk women's basketball team welcomes Lasell to Regan Gymnasium Thursday, Feb. 2 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.  

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LAST TIME OUT
The Suffolk women's basketball team sprang out of the locker room for a monster third quarter, outscoring St. Joseph (Conn.), 26-12, en route to a 68-46 GNAC triumph Saturday afternoon inside Regan Gymnasium.           

MORE READING: Third Quarter Sends Women's Basketball Past USJ, 68-46

RUNDOWN ON THE RAMS
Suffolk returned to the win column Saturday to improve to 14-6 overall and 9-2 against conference competition, marking already its best league slate since capturing 10 victories against GNAC opponents in 2012-13. The Rams sit one game behind South Standings leader Emmanuel (14-6, 10-1 GNAC). 

Suffolk's offense is the third best in the league, pouring in 67.9 ppg off the third highest shooting percentage from the field (38.7%) and best connection rate from three-point range (34.9%). The Rams are also consistent at the charity stripe, connecting on 66.5 percent of their visits. A pair of seniors lead the way offensively for the Rams identically with Georgia Bourikas and Kelsey Schiebel providing 10.3 ppg each. Freshman Alexis Hackett adds 9.1 ppg to the effort, while Caitlyn Caramello and Alexandra Nagri chip in 8.6 ppg and 7.7 ppg, respectively. 

Defensively, Suffolk sits atop the conference in rebounds per outing with 47.4 rpg, which lands inside the NCAA DIII Top-25 at 18th, and holds the second-best rebound margin, outrebounding its opposition by 9.3 boards, which also sits in the NCAA DIII Top-25 at 25th.  The true ingredient to the Rams' success on the glass is on the defensive end, grabbing the fifth-most caroms across NCAA DIII with 32.0. Caramello's 7.5 rpg paces the pack on the boards with Katelyn Rourke adding 7.3 rpg. Alexandra Clarke pitches in 6.3 rpg. 

LOOK AT THE LASERS
Lasell is winless in its last eight outings, the streak put the Lasers at 5-14 on the season and 2-9 in GNAC play. The last time Lasell marked a tally in the win column was Jan. 7 thanks to a 68-61 triumph at Anna Maria. 

The Lasers' offense is the lowest output amongst conference teams with just 46.5 ppg. Lasell's shooting percentage are also on the lower end of the tier, shooting just 31.1 percent from the floor, 24.8 percent from three and 59.8 percent at the line. Morgan Church is the lone player recording double figures offensively for the lasers with 12.6 ppg. Brianna Hoffman notches 9.5 ppg with the third highest scoring coming in at just 5.4 ppg in Taylor Hughey. 

Lasell also is on the bottom in the league in rebounds with just 34.5 boards per outing with the Lasers being outrebounded by their opponents by a 7.4 margin. Dana Ross and Church lead the way on the glass with 6.3 rpg and 6.0 rpg, respectively. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
Suffolk is undefeated all-time versus Lasell since the series began in 2007-08. The Rams hold a 9-0 record versus the Lasers including a 85-63 triumph last season. 

EYES ON THE GAME
  

JOINING THE ELITE
Thursday night Kelsey Schiebel joined an elite group of Rams with her 100th career appearance in blue-and-gold. Schiebel is now one of 16 Suffolk women's basketball players to take the hardwood in 100 games.  

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Since November 28 the GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week has donned Suffolk blue-and-gold with Alexis Hackett earning six honors, including four straight from Dec. 12 - Jan. 16, and Katelyn Rourke picking up the nod twice, Dec. 5 and Jan. 23. 

BEST ROOK IN NEW ENGLAND
After collecting her fifth GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week nod this season, Suffolk women's basketball's Alexis Hackett earned another recognition as the NEWBA named her Rookie of the Week, the association announced Monday afternoon.   

MORE READING: NEWBA Recognizes Hackett as Rookie of the Week, Again

The pre-game shows are set to launch 15 minutes prior to tip-off of all contests and fans can follow along at mixlr.com/suffolkfreeradio/.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk closes its three-game homestretch Saturday, Feb. 4 when undefeated Saint Joseph's (Maine) pays Regan Gymnasium a visit at 1 p.m.