Posted: Jan 07, 2012
The Johnson & Wales University women's basketball suffered a tough 62-57 double overtime setback against Suffolk in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Harborside RAC on Saturday afternoon.
JWU was paced by junior Ayla Walter (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) and senior Kaitlyn Lefort (Pawtucket, R.I.) with 12 points each while sophomore Jenna Juron (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) had 11 points and five rebounds in the setback for the Wildcats.
Suffolk was led by senior Mary Garon (Auburn, N.H.) with 17 points and seven rebounds while junior Jacqueline Vienneau (Salem, N.H.) and senior Meghan Black (Roslindale, Mass.) each had 16 points in the victory.
The two teams traded baskets early in the game with the score knotted 8-8 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. Suffolk then went on a 10-4 run to take an 18-12 lead on a free throw by Garon with 5:32 left on the clock. JWU chipped away at the lead, however and tied the game 22-22 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Johnson & Wales came out strong to start the second half and used a 16-7 run to start the stanza to take a 38-29 lead on a jumper by Lefort with 9:50 left in regulation. JWU led by a score of 46-43 after a pair of free throws by Juron with just under two minutes left. After a free throw by Black, sophomore Marisa Cataldo (Stoneham, Mass.) hit a jumper with :46 seconds to go to knot the game at 46-46. Regulation would end in a tie. After battling thorough the first overtime period, JWU held the 57-56 lead with 3:04 left on the clock of the second overtime stanza. The visiting Rams then scored the last six points of the game, including four from the free throw line to take the 62-57 victory.
With the loss Johnson & Wales falls to 4-9 for the year and 0-1 in the GNAC while Suffolk improves to 8-5 on the season and 1-0 in league play. The Wildcats will return to action on Thursday, January 12th when they travel to Simmons for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at 7:00 p.m.
(Story courtesy of Johnson & Wales University Sports Information)