BOSTON – Suffolk women's basketball over a 16-point deficit, took the lead, but ultimately fell to Roger Williams as the Hawks hit a buzzer beater to hand the Rams their first loss of the year, a 74-73 Commonwealth Coast Conference setback Saturday after Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 73 | Roger Williams 74
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-1, 1-1 CCC) | Roger Williams (4-2, 2-0 CCC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a back-and-forth first frame, Roger Williams held a 14-11 edge over the Rams.
The Hawks put together a 9-2 stretch to start the second that put Suffolk in a double figure hole, 23-10, at the 7:30 mark.
The blue-and-gold attempted to comeback on multiple occasions and managed to get the gap down to seven thanks to six unanswered points: a lay-up from Lauren Romito, a triple by Claire Berkowitz and a freebie by the freshman.
RWU closed out the first half with a pair of free throws by Sophia Coppola to send Suffolk into the locker room down nine, 37-28.
Every comeback attempt by the Rams in the third was put to rest by the Hawks, who built a 16-point advantage, 59-43, after 30 minutes.
Suffolk did not succumb to its largest deficit of the night. Instead, the Rams used it to rally. In the first four minutes, the blue-and-gold chipped the distance down to 11. It was after a Roger Williams timeout that Suffolk truly found its grove.
A free throw from Amanda DeAngelis sparked a 10-0 Rams run that cut the Hawks lead to one, 63-62, with 4:08 left on the clock.
After Abrielle Racine knocked down a trey for the visitors, freebies for Suffolk leveled the playing field. Maddie Stewart put in one from the charity stripe, while DeAngelis connected on a pair to make it a 65-all game at the 2:14 mark.
Reese Codero kept the advantage in the Hawks favor with buckets from behind-the-arc. Colby Guinta swished her own hoop from 3-point land before Jordan Moreau forced a turnover and turned it into a traditional 3-point play to push Suffolk in front for the first time on the afternoon, 73-71.
Guinta had a chance to pad the edge for the Rams as she went to the free throw line. The sophomore front rimmed the first and a violation on the second allowed Roger Williams to use a timeout and advance the ball with 2.4 seconds remaining.
Katie Galligan's hail mary shot from downtown banked off the backboard as the buzzer sounded to send the Hawks to victory, 74-73.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Stewart supplied 18 points on a 6-for-10 day from the floor with a 5-for-6 showing from the line. The junior added four assists, two steals, one block and one board.
- DeAngelis finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, one takeaway and one set-up.
- Romito registered a 17-rebound, 14-pont double-double. She swatted six shots and dished out a pair of dimes.
- Suffolk outrebounded the Hawks, 52-45.
- As a team, the Rams shot 38.7 percent (24-62) on the afternoon, 50.0 percent behind-the-arc (4-8) and 67.7 percent (21-31) at the free throw line.
- Suffolk scored 36 of its 73 points in the paint.
- Roger Williams' reserves supplied 32 points, compared to 15 from Suffolk's bench.
- The Hawks converted Suffolk's 20 turnovers into 23 points.
NOTEWORTHY
- Suffolk tied the program's best start through six games with a 5-1 ledger that was achieved three other times in program history (2021-22, 2020-21 and 2003-04).
- DeAngelis tallied her fifth double-double of the year, 21st of her collegiate career.
- Romito recorded her third double-double of the season.
- Romito pulled down a career-high 17 boards and had a personal-best six blocks.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is scheduled to entertain Endicott Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. at Smith Court.
