BOSTON – The Suffolk women's basketball team tipped off its 2015-16 season Saturday afternoon with a 62-48 win over UMaine Farmington at Emerson's Tip-Off Tournament at Brown-Plofker Gymnasium.
Suffolk (1-0) outscored UMaine Farmington (0-1) 34-25 over the game's final 20 to cruise to the victory, the team's fifth straight season opening triumph under head coach Ed Leyden.
In her collegiate debut, freshman Marissa Gudauskas paced the Rams offensively, scoring a game-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep off the bench. Sophomore Alexandra Nagri and junior Kelsey Schiebel matched Gudauskas' double-digit scoring output. Nagri registered 11 points and added five assists and five steals, while Schiebel put in 10 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and one handout.
All, but one Ram who saw more than 10 minutes of action jotted their name in the scorebook as Suffolk finished the night shooting 33.3 percent (25-75) front he field.
Rhi Jackson scored a team-high 11 points for UMaine Farmington with Kelly Pomerleau and Elizabeth Ferry adding seven apiece.
Suffolk got going early as Nagri scored on the Rams' first possession that lead to an early 5-0 edge. After the Beavers matched Suffolk's buckets and knotted the contest at 5-5, Suffolk used 13 unanswered points to jump ahead, 18-5, but Ferry sunk a trey to close out the first quarter, 18-8 in favor of the blue-and-gold.
In the second stanza it took nearly four minutes before either team connected from the field. UMaine Farmington slowly chipped away at Suffolk's advantage and a Ferry steal that led to a Pomerleau lay-up put the Beavers within five, 25-20, with 2:39 to play before intermission. The Rams did not let the Beavers any closer and the five-point difference stood as the teams headed to the locker rooms, 28-23.
Out of the break, Jackson sparked a 7-3 run that put UMaine Farmington within one possession of the lead, before Suffolk exploded on a 12-4 that made it a nine-point lead at the end of the third, 43-34.
Suffolk's edge stood and outscored the Beavers, 19-14, in the final frame to seal the final 62-48 triumph.
The Rams return to the court tomorrow in the championship game of the Emerson Tip-Off Tournament against Framingham State at 3 p.m.