![Gordon Uses First Half to Take Down Women’s Basketball, 78-61](/sports/wbkb/2023-24/photos/0011/BKW_20240220_Endicott_CCC_First_Round_Thurman_Ava_0618_new_thumb.jpg)
THE BASICS
Score: Suffolk 61 | Gordon 78
Records: Suffolk (6-6, 1-4 CNE) | Gordon (4-8, 1-4 CNE)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colby Guinta sunk the first basket of the night, a hoop from behind-the-arc, but it turned into a FIghting Scots show as they scored 12 unanswered.
Hoops from Allison Bono and Arlenis Veloz cut the deficit down to seven, 14-7. Gordon closed out the quarter on a 7-2 run that put the blue-and-gold in a 21-9 hole after the first 10 minutes.
Limited offense from the home day allowed the visiting Fighting Scots to lengthen their lead to 22, 37-15, at halftime.
The playing field evened out in the third period, but due to its first half advantage, Gordon remained in front comfortably, 63-37.
The 20-point margin hung around until the final three minutes. Maddie Stewart converted a trip to the free throw line into two points that sparked a 10-0 Rams run that trimmed the gap down to 17. Olivia Verdile was a main ingredient to that scoring stretch as the sophomore was responsible for the eight points following Stewart's freebies.
Back-and-forth action closed out the contest and that 17-point margin remained at the final buzzer, 79-61.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Guinta provided 19 points to Suffolk's offense to go along with six rebounds and a pair of steals.
- Stewart supplied 13 points, four caroms, three helpers and one swat.
- Verdile logged eight points, all in the final three minutes, behind a 3-for-5 showing from the floor that included a 2-for-4 effort from downtown. She added two steals.
- Ava Thurman tallied six boards, four points, two assists and two takeaways off the bench.
- Veloz finished with five points, one carom and one steal.
NOTEWORTHY
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Thurman set a personal-best in rebounds (6) and matched a caerer-high in points (4), assists (2) and steals (2).
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads to Dudley, Massachusetts Saturday, Jan. 11 for a 1:00 p.m. showdown at Nichols.