BOSTON – Suffolk women's basketball held off an Albertus Magnus comeback, used clock management, and composure to secure its second straight GNAC win, a 65-59 triumph against the Falcons Magnus Thursday night at Emmanuel's Andy Yosinoff Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 65 | Albertus Magnus 59
RECORDS: Suffolk (10-4, 2-0 GNAC) | Albertus Magnus (10-5, 1-1 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk answered Albertus Magnus' game-opening hoop with 11 straight points – four from Jordan Hipwell and a pair from Gabriella DeComo and Allie Lopes, respectively – to go up 11-2 4:26 into the action. 

The Rams managed to make it a 10-point game as Alexis Hackett and Jenni-Rose DiCecco got in on the scoring. The Falcons fought back with 7-0 stretch that ended the first frame and trimmed the gap to three, 16-13.  

Hoop-for-hoop action came in the opening minutes of the second stanza. Natalie Fraioli converted an Albertus Magnus technical into two Suffolk points. Those freebies ignited an 8-2 rally that pushed the hosts advantage to nine, 28-19, with 5:07 remaining in the first half.  

More back-and-forth scoring followed, which kept the blue-and-gold in front, 33-24. Albertus Magnus used its first timeout of the night at the 2:19 minute mark of the second quarter. Out of the break, neither team managed to tack on more points and the nine-point lead held in Suffolk's favor as the game headed to half time.   

Nearly 2:30 minutes out of the locker room Ed Leyden called a timeout, his first of the day. The huddle helped Suffolk regain a double-digit distance as Hackett hit her second triple of the day before DeComo connected on a turnaround jumper at the 4:40 minute mark.  

Another Suffolk timeout played in the Rams favor. This time out of the break Hackett buried her third bucket from behind-the-arc and Lopes followed suit with one of her own to push the margin to 14, 48-34.  

The Falcons kept things interesting by outscoring the Rams, 10-4, over the final 3:25 of the third quarter to cut Suffolk's cushion to eight, 52-44.  

Albertus Magnus managed to keep the scoring stretch going in the first two minutes in the fourth to make it a one-possession game, 52-49.  

Lay-ups by DeComo and Lopes regained a 56-52 lead for Suffolk. That wouldn't last long as buckets from three-point land by the Falcons sandwiched around a visitor's timeout followed by a right-handed drive from Kyah Nowlin put Albertus Magnus in front for the second time, first since 9:22 of the opening quarter.  

Lopes responded for the Rams on their next possession to flip the script in their favor once again, 58-57. 

Suffolk grasped at a one-point edge with just over a minute remaining. A botched trip to the free throw line by the Rams set-up what could be a game-changing chance for the Falcons, however, a costly turnover gave the ball back to the blue-and-gold.  

The Rams used the clock with two resets on offensive rebounds before DiCecco put away her second field goal of the night to push Suffolk ahead by three, 62-59, with 26 seconds left.  

Albertus Magnus saw another opportunity to get back in things, but instead sent DiCecco to the charity stripe. The senior made one, missed one and a four-point game stood at the 11.9 mark.  

The Falcons used a timeout to advance the ball. With a sideline play drawn up for Nowlin, her jump met DeComo's palm and she fouled the Suffolk junior on the rebound. DeComo swished both her free throws to clinch the 65-59 decision for the Rams.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• DeComo paced Suffolk's scoring with a 19-point performance. The swing guard shot 50 percent (7-14) from the field and did not miss the charity stripe (4-4) to lead a three-player double-digit contingent. She added four rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist to her stat line. 
• Hackett helped on both ends of the hardwood with 13 caroms and 11 points with three steals, two dimes and one swat. 
• Lopes contributed 11 points and five boards. 
• Hipwell had 12 rebounds and six points with one takeaway to her credit. 
• DiCecco scored seven points herself and aided on seven other buckets. 
• Suffolk shot 31.6 percent (24-76) from the floor, 19.2 percent (5-26) from three-point range and 52.2 percent (12-13) from the line. 
• The Rams took advantage of Falcons turnovers, turning the visitor's 18 miscues to 25 points. 
• Suffolk also capitalized on their 50 rebounds with 18 points on second chances.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk returned to the win column against Albertus Magnus for the first time since Jan. 13, 2018 to move to 17-8 all-time versus the Falcons. 
• Hackett had her 30th career double-double, fifth of the season, first since the first semester finale against Clark Dec. 10, 2019. 
• DeComo notched a career-high 19 points. 
• Hipwell matched a personal-best 12 caroms.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk takes its talents to Lasell Saturday, Jan. 18 for a 2 p.m. tip-off.