BEVERLY, Mass.  – Jenni-Rose DiCecco scored 12 of the Rams' 18 fourth quarter points to anchor Suffolk women's basketball come-from-behind 61-54 victory over Endicott Saturday afternoon at MacDonald Gym. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 61 | Endicott 54
RECORDS: Suffolk (2-1) | Endicott (0-1)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
It took 2:30 minutes to get the scoring, but once it did both sides went on spurts. Suffolk started with a 5-2 lead before things leveled at 5-all. The Gulls then took over behind shooting from downtown. From there, the game would equalize three more times in the first 10 minutes and the lead flipped twice.    

The final switch came on Emily Welling's offensive put back with just under one minute to play in the first frame. Endicott made a jab to come back, converting a layup on its last possession, but a pair of freebies by Gabriella DeComo with 14 seconds left on the clock kept the blue-and-gold in front, 20-17, when the quarter ended.  

Similar to the opening quarter, Suffolk took a five-point cushion to get the second stanza started. Endicott responded with an 8-2 stretch to go ahead, 28-27, and force head coach Ed Leyden to take a timeout at the midway point of the quarter.  

Out of the break, Suffolk's scoring was limited, which allowed the Gulls to extend the margin to double figures, 41-31. Natalie Fraioli eliminated the 10-point deficit with two free throws at the 54-second mark, but the Rams could not make up any more ground and went into the locker room still trailing, 41-33.  

Suffolk opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run that tied the game at 43-all at the 2:56 minute mark. That stretch featured four points from Fraioli and Welling, respectively. The spurt did not put the blue-and-gold in front, however, and Endicott clung to the lead as time expired in the third, 46-43.  

The Gulls put away the first hoop of the fourth to extend the gap to two possessions, 49-43. Suffolk quickly took a timeout to talk things over and this time what coach Leyden had to say worked. DiCecco got the ball rolling for the Rams. The floor general's layup jump started 10 unanswered points that gave Suffolk a 53-49 lead with 3:34 remaining in regulation.  

It was all Suffolk from there. The Rams closed the game on an 8-3 stretch. Fraioli chipped in two more points, while DiCecco contributed six for the final 61-54 decision.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• DiCecco finished the day with 22 points, 12 of which came over the final 10 minutes. The senior added seven caroms, four assists, four steals and two blocks. 
• Welling was one rebound shy of a double-double with a 15-point, nine-board effort that went along with five swats, three takeaways and two dimes. 
• Fraioli added 10 points, eight rebounds, one helper and one block. 
• Gabriella DeComo chipped in eight points, eight rebounds, one set-up and one steal. 
• Suffolk shot just 34.2 percent (25-73) from the floor and missed all five of its triples taken. 
• The Gulls outrebounded the Rams, 53-46. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated Endicott in back-to-back battles for the first time since winning four games in a row from 2001-04. 
• The Rams defeated the Gulls in Beverly for just the fourth time, first since a 60-54 win Dec. 2, 2003. 
• Welling matched a career-high 15 points and set a new personal-best in blocks with five. 
• DiCecco (2 blocks) and Fraioli (1 block) each matched career bests. 

POST-GAME PIC
  

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
Suffolk concludes the home-and-home series with Endicott tomorrow, Sunday, March 7 when the Rams welcome the Gulls to Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court for a 1 p.m. tip-off.