BOSTON – The Suffolk women's basketball came up short in its GNAC opener as the Rams slipped to Emmanuel, 75-63, at the Andy Yosinoff Court Thursday night. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 63, Emmanuel 75
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-3, 0-1 GNAC) | Emmanuel (2-3, 1-0 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening quarter saw both teams shoot out to fast starts, with Suffolk leads 9-8 on Alexandra Nagri's first triple of the night. The sophomore put the Rams out in front for the first time and put in seven of Suffolk's first nine points. 

The lead was short lived and Emmanuel took over the reigns at the midway point of the first frame, 14-11. The pace of the shootout dipped briefly until the Rams Marissa Gudauskas pulled the trigger from downtown, but the Saints' Talia Roth countered with a trey of her own to keep Emmanuel in front, 19-18. 

Hoops were traded down the stretch and the quarter expired with the Saints up, 26-24. 

The two squads continued their back and forth battle through much of the second stanza. With 1:27 remaining the Saint began to create some separation thanks to a traditional three-point play and two sets of freebies to give the home team a nine-point cushion, the largest lead of the half. The Rams could not break up the Saints momentum and headed to the locker room in a 42-34 hole. 

Suffolk trailed marginally for the opening minutes of the second half, before a triple from Gena Restiano lit a spark for the Rams. The senior's first points of the day opened a 9-4 stretch in favor of the blue and gold capped off by Gudauskas' second ball from long range of the evening to slim the deficit to five with 1:13 on the clock in the third. The difference held entering the fourth quarter. 

After trading buckets to open the final frame, Suffolk put in four quick points to pull within two, 58-56. The Saints rebuilt a double digit margin, 67-56, a triple from Georgia Bourikas with four minutes left in regulation made it a two possession game, but it was the closets the visitors would get the remainder of the way. Emmanuel outscored Suffolk 8-2 to walk away with the 75-63 triumph. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Nagri finished with a game-high 14 points, nine of which came in the first quarter, on a 5-of-6 shooting performance from the floor. 
• Caitlyn Caramello contributed 13 points, shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 5-for-6 at the line. The junior reserve added five rebounds and one steal to her stat line. 
• Also off the bench, freshman Alexis Hackett chipped in double figures with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. 
• Rookie Katelyn Rourke led the Rams' 36-rebound effort with a team-high six, including four on the defensive end. 
• Suffolk was outrebounded by the Saints, 47-36. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT
After playing its first six games of the season on the road, Suffolk will compete at home for the first time this season Saturday, Dec. 3 as the Rams entertain Framingham State to Regan Gymnasium for a 1 p.m. non-conference contest.