The UMass-Boston Beacons (7-16 overall) topped the Suffolk University Women's Basketball team (16-8 overall) by a 62-57 margin on Thursday evening in non-conference action at the Regan Gymnasium.
Freshman Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) poured in 22 points and collected nine rebounds to guide the Beacons to their seventh victory of the season.
Senior Meghan Black (Roslindale, Mass.) collected a career-milestone on Thursday evening as she grabbed her 500th career rebound. Black becomes the 63rd player in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball history to record the career total in rebounds as she achieved it with 6:36 remaining in the first half on an offensive rebound. Black becomes the sixth Suffolk player in the last decade to join this list. Kate LiBranid (1999-2002) is the Rams' all-time leading rebounder with 769. Alongside Black and LiBrandi are: Meghan Tracey (2002-05) who had 727 rebounds, Jenn Fogg (2003-07) who had 722 rebounds, Allison Fox (2002-05) who had 675 rebounds and Julie Niznik (2000-03) who had 592 rebounds. Natalia Perlaza (2002-05) of Albertus Magnus College holds the conference rebound record with a 1,114 career total.
Black finished the game with six rebounds and 10 points for the Rams, while senior Mary Garon (Auburn, N.H.) had team-highs in both points with 14 and rebounds with eight.
The story of the game was the Beacons' second half defense that held the Rams to only 18 points and twenty-percent shooting from the field over the final twenty minutes of play after Suffolk took a 39-32 lead into halftime.
The Beacons closed the game with a 10-0 run to seal the victory as the Rams could not muster a point over the final 4:25 of the contest.
Garon connected a three-pointer to give the Rams a 62-57 edge, but that would be the final basket they would score on the evening.
Morrison would score the next four Beacons' points on a layup and a pair of free-throws to cut the Beacons within a point. Junior Teresa Pina (Boston, Mass.) gave UMass-Boston a one-point edge, 58-57 at the 2:17 mark as she made consectuive shots from the free-throw line.
Senior Elizabeth Dow (Marshfield, Mass.) then hit a jumper to make it a three-point game with ninety seconds on the clock. The Rams missed three straight shots from beyond the arc, before freshman Lauren Parra (Taunton, Mass.) put the game out of reach with a pair of free-throws with nine seconds remaining.
Junior Jaqueline Vienneau (Salem, N.H.) scored 13 first-half points for the Rams and added four assists.
The Beacons finished with four players in double digits in scoring in the contest, including Morrison. Perra finished with 15, while Pina and Dow each put in 10 points.
Both teams will wrap up their 2011-12 regular seasons on Saturday with conference matchups. UMass-Boston will host Eastern Connecticut State University in a Little East Conference (LEC) game at 1:00pm. Suffolk hosts St. Joseph College at the Regan Gymnasium in GNAC action that is scheduled for a 1:00pm tipoff.