BOSTON – Persistence paid off for Suffolk women's basketball Wednesday night as the Rams overcame a 12-point margin with six minutes to go in regulation, forced an extra session, not once, but twice, to take down Wheaton, 90-85, at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

The win was the Rams first-ever of the Lyons in program history and was propelled by freshman Tatiana Tune, sophomore Olivia Verdile and junior Jordan Moreau. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 90 | Wheaton 85
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-1) | Wheaton (1-4)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Down a dozen with six minutes left, Ed Leyden used his final time out of regulation with 5:48 left on the clock. The huddle did not help the host much as a double figure distance remained two minutes later.  

It was not until the 2:22 mark that Suffolk really started scoring again and once it did it could not stop. Tune sparked the comeback frenzy with a layup and Moreau connected on three straight driving lay-ups to pull the blue-and-gold within three, 67-64, with 17 seconds on the clock.  

Fiorillo gambled with the foul game and sent Kennis Jasperson to the line for two shots. It paid off as the Lyons' guard missed up both and Tune collected the rebound. On the other end of the hardwood, Verdile lofted a shot from beyond-the-arc that was off the mark. The ball was knocked out of bounds by a Wheaton defender and Suffolk gained possession under its own hoop. 

On the inbounds, Moreau found Tune for an easy bunny. The freshman banked it in and was fouled in the process to go to the line with two seconds to go and the game on the line. The pressure did not phase the rookie as she swished the freebie to send the game into overtime. 

Suffolk found itself behind once again in the first OT as Wheaton took a four-point lead, 76-72, with 2:02 left. Another Rams comeback came. Colby Guinta stareted it off with a trey, Tune followed with a critical lay-up and Moreau banked a layup home as time expired to force another five minutes. 

The teams traded buckets to get the second overtime underway. Verdile broke open an 83-all game with a trifecta to send Suffolk in front, a lead the Rams would not give up the rest of the way. Stealthy defense and a clutch steal by Tune with 26 seconds on the clock were the final factors to seal the thrilling victory.  

A back-and-forth opening saw things deadlocked at 11-all 3:32 into the contest. The Lyons leapt ahead thanks to an 8-0 run.  

The Rams rallied back within one, 19-18, thanks to a scoring stretch of their own. The seven straight Suffolk points came from back-to-back buckets by Tune and three from Claire Berkowitz.  

Wheaton outscored the blue-and-gold 5-2 over the final two minutes of the opening quarter to put the host in a four-point hole, 24-20, after 10 minutes. 

Suffolk burst out of the break to take the lead, 27-25, which forced the Lyons into their first timeout of the night.  

See-saw action ensued before the Rams' upperclassmen took control. Guinta buried a trey to lock things at 31 before she converted a trip to the free throw line to two points to push the blue-and-gold in front. Amanda DeAngelis sunk a turn-around jumper to extend that edge to four, Suffolk's largest lead of the night at the point. 

The upper hand would exchange once more in the second stanza as Wheaton went up 38-36 with 2:22 to go before halftime. 

It was Suffolk from as it scored the final six points to take a 42-38 cushion into the locker room. The quarter-ending run featured two points by DeAngelis and four in a row by Maddie Stewart.  

Wheaton commanded the third quarter to gain a 58-52 advantage. That gap grew to as many as 12, 66-54, with exactly 6:00 minutes to play before Suffolk mounted its comeback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Tune was crucial down the stretch with 10 of her 14 points coming in the fourth quarter and first overtime. She shot 6-for-9 for the night including a 2-for-3 effort from the charity stripe. Her offense featured three helpers, while her defensive effort saw eight rebounds and three steals, two of which were in overtime.
• DeAngelis had a quiet 21-point, 10-rebound double-double. Her game-high offensive effort was behind an 8-for-15 showing from the floor and a 5-for-8 performance at the line. She added three takeaways and one swat. 
• Guinta contributed 14 points, two rebounds and two assists. 
• Moreau supplied 13 points, eight of which came in the final 12 minutes, to go along with three dimes, two caroms and one steal. 
• Verdile rounded out the Rams in double figures with 12 points on a 5-for-10 night. The sophomore chipped in one assist and one steal as well. 
• As a team, Suffolk shot 43.6 percent (34-78) from the field, 73.9 percent (17-23) at the free throw line and just 26.3 percent (5-19) from behind-the-arc. 
• The Lyons outrebounded the Rams, 50-45. 
• Turnovers cost both sides. Suffolk scored 24 points on the Lyons mishaps, while the visitors turned the Rams 23 turnovers into just as many points. 
• Second chances paid off for Wheaton as it scored 24 points on offensive rebounds. 
• The Rams reserves were responsible for 37 points of Suffolk's total scoring. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Wheaton renewed a rivalry meeting for the first time since Nov. 16, 2014. 
• The Rams hosted the Lyons for the second time in program history, first since the first-ever meeting, Jan. 12, 2006. 
• Suffolk defeated Wheaton for the first time in program history. 
• The Rams are now 1-4 all-time against the Lyons.
• The double overtime outing is a first for the blue-and-gold since it downed Albertus Magnus in the 2020 GNAC Quarterfinals, 103-95, in double OT, Feb. 25, 2020. 
• Suffolk needed OT to decide a winner for the second time this year. 
• The Rams are unbeaten this campaign when a game exceeds regulation. 
• Tune had a career-high with personal-bests in every category. 
• Verdile finished with a personal-best in points (12) and field goals made (5) and matched a career-high two 3-pointers made. 
• DeAngelis had her third double-double of the season, 38th of her collegiate career. 
• Fiorillo had a career-high two steals for the second time in as many games.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads back out on the road this Saturday, Nov. 23 for a showdown at Rivier at 1:00 p.m.