NEWTON, Mass. – Peyton Young put up a hail mary triple as time expired in overtime to hand Suffolk women's basketball a 62-59 loss Saturday afternoon at the Lasers Athletic Center.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 59 | Lasell 62
RECORDS: Suffolk (10-5, 2-1 GNAC) | Lasell (8-6, 2-1 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk fell behind 10-4 in the first. Jordan Hipwell ignited 10 unanswered points for the Rams with a bucket behind-the-arc to give the visitors a 14-10 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes.
The late momentum from the opening frame carried into the second as a pair of Jenni-Rose DiCecco lay-ups were followed by one from Emily Welling that turned it into a 10-point Suffolk score, 20-10.
Lasell took control from there with seven straight points to pull within three 3:43 into the second quarter. Gabriella DeComo knocked down a three-pointer and Lily Patneaude chipped in two points to regained an eight-point lead, 25-17, for the Rams.
Balanced scoring on both ends kept Suffolk ahead, 30-21, at half time.
The Lasers made their move in the third as they scored the first nine points out of the locker room to level the playing field at 30 at the midway point of the quarter. Natalie Fraioli restored the advantage in Suffolk's favor before Allie Lopes heated up from three-point land to keep the Rams in front, 39-45, with three quarters in the book.
Another scoring lull hit Suffolk, which allowed Lasell to flip the script in its favor, 45-42. Lopes locked matters at 45-all with her fifth three ball of the day and DeComo followed suit with a hoop of her own behind-the-arc to make it 48-45 Suffolk with just over three mintues remaining in regulation.
Lasell evened the score again 48 with 1:20 to go. A Suffolk foul and turnover in the open court turned into three points for the Lasers and put the Rams in a three-point hole with 10 seconds to play.
As time ticked off the clock DiCecco fired off an NBA-range three and connected to knot the clash at 51 as time expired.
In the first 2:30 minutes of OT Lasell grabbed a 55-51 cushion. Hipwell converted a steal into two points and Alexis Hackett swished a three to put the Rams in front, 56-55, with 1:33 left on the clock.
Déjà vu came for the blue-and-gold as a Lasers jumper and two freebies had Suffolk down three with little time left, 16 seconds to be exact.
Lasell used a timeout to talk strategy. A substation of Patneaude caught the Lasers off guard as she was left open at the three-point line. The Rams rookie's shot lofted into the netting to equalize the playing field once again. Once the ball went in, a whistle sounded signaling a foul on the shot. Patneaude went to the line with the chance to win, but her shot was off the mark.
With under five seconds on the clock, Precious Montgomery gobbled up the rebound and dished ahead to Young, who caught, shot and won the game as time expired.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Lopes led the way with 17 points, going 6-for-13 from the field and 5-for-8 from downtown She grabbed five boards, four of which came on the defensive end.
- DeComo joined Lopes in double digits with 12 points to her credit to go along with four caroms, one helper and one steal.
- DiCecco contributed nine points, seven rebounds, six dimes and one swat.
- Hackett had 12 boards, five points, three handouts and one block.
NOTEWORTHY
- Suffolk and Lasell needed extra time to decide a winner for the first time in program history.
- The Rams played in over time for the first time since falling to Bridgewater State, 68-68, in double OT November 29, 2018.
- Lopes made a career-high five triples.
POST-GAME PIC
COMING UP
Suffolk remains on the road Tuesday, Jan. 21 as it heads to Anna Maria for a 5 p.m. conference clash.