Freshman guard Colleen Hooper (Mansfield, MA) tallied a game-high 21 points and freshman forward Kendra Mosley (Indian Head, MD) posted 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the University of Massachusetts Boston women's basketball team over Suffolk University, 69-65, this afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of UMass Boston. With the decision, the Beacons snap a seven-game losing streak and improve to 12-10 overall, while the Rams fall to 14-8.
UMass Boston came out strong in the opening 20 minutes to post its largest first-half point total of the season as the Beacons took a 43-28 lead to halftime. Five minutes in, Hooper converted a traditional three-point play and then stroked a 3-pointer from behind the arc on her squad's next possession to give UMass Boston the lead, 15-14. Hooper later buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Beacons a 28-19 lead with 10:43 left in the half. Mosley nailed a pair of free throws with a little less than seven minutes remaining to bring UMass Boston's advantage to 35-24. With three minutes to go, Mosley banked in a shot from behind the arc to help the Beacons open up a 41-27 lead, and then sophomore forward Elizabeth Dow (Marshfield, MA) tacked on a jumper for a 16-point advantage which was the biggest of the game.
The Rams would not go quietly and pushed the contest to the final possession. It only took 2:48 of the second half for the visitors to cut the UMass Boston lead to 10, 45-35. The Beacons went cold for a long stretch, managing three total points in the opening nine minutes of the second frame as Suffolk pulled within three, 46-43 on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Jacqueline Vienneau (Salem, NH). A layup by sophomore forward Dominique Demar (Colchester, CT) at 8:54 made it 50-49, and then a 3-pointer by junior forward Mary Garon (Auburn, NH) gave the Rams their first lead since early in the contest, 55-54, with 7:39 left. After falling behind 59-55, UMass Boston climbed back ahead 61-59 with a triple from Hooper with 5:14 remaining. Neither team could build an advantage of more than two points over the next four minutes until junior forward Molly Rattigan (Dorchester, MA) knocked down both her free throws to give the Beacons a 67-63 lead with 56 seconds on the clock.
For UMass Boston, sophomore guard Elisa Ogawa (Yamanashi, Japan) posted 10 points with four assists and Dow pulled down eight rebounds.
Suffolk had three players in double digits led by Vienneau's 16. Freshman forwards Lindsey Rogers (Gloucester, MA) and Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, CT) chipped in with 12 and 10, respectively. Ruys also hauled in seven rebounds to lead her team.
Both teams return to action Saturday at 1:00 p.m. as the Beacons host Plymouth State University in a Little East Conference match-up while the Rams welcome Emerson College in GNAC action.
(Story courtesy of UMass Boston Sports Information)