BOSTON – Suffolk women's basketball's upperclassmen paced the Rams' to a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) 74-66 victory on the road over Nichols at the Nichols Athletic Center.   

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 74 | Nichols 66 
RECORDS: Suffolk (17-6, 11-5 CCC) | Nichols (8-15, 4-12 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk stormed out of the gates to build a 17-4 lead after the first 10 minutes. The Rams scored a dozen straight points and held the Bison scoreless for nearly five minutes to start out strong.  

Nichols got going in the second to trim Suffolk's 13-point advantage down. The Bison managed to pull within single digits and as few as seven three times with the last coming just 19 seconds before half time. Marissa Gattuso, however, restored a nine-point cushion, 35-26, for the Rams as the teams headed to the locker room as the graduate student made a jump right before time expired.  

A Rams 10-2 run started the third quarter and put the blue-and-gold ahead by 17, 45-28, at the 7:23 mark. The Bison buried two consecutive buckets to cut the distance back to a dozen. A see-saw battle ensued with neither team able to put a rally together. That allowed Suffolk to hang onto a double-digit advantage, 58-46, as the contest headed to the fourth. 

In the fourth, it was Nichols that burst out of the huddle. A quick 7-2 spurt from the host threatened Suffolk's edge and trimmed the gap down to seven, 60-53, with 8:25 on the clock in regulation.  

Thankfully Jenni-Rose DiCecco and Allie Lopes stayed hot from downtown.  The graduate student and senior sunk triples back-to-back, their third and fourth treys of the night, respectively, to push the blue-and-gold ahead by 13 again at the 7:01 mark.  

Those hoops from behind-the-arc proved to be crucial as Suffolk's scoring hit a draught with 3:17 to go. That scoring lull lasted 2:40 and Nichols took advantage to pull within seven, 71-64.  

Time was not in the Bison's favor, which forced the host to gamble with the foul game. Luckily the Rams managed to seal the deal at the free throw line, going 3-for-6 in the final 37 seconds to wrap up the win.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk's upperclassmen were responsible for 66 of the Rams' 74 points. 
• Lopes led the way with 17 on a 4-for-10 showing from 3-point land. The guard also supplied six caroms, one assist, one block and one steal. 
• DiCecco contributed 12 points, eight boards, and five helpers. 
• Emily Welling a 13-rebound, 12-point double-double to go along with six swats and a pair of dimes. 
• Gabriella DeComo registered 10 points, five boards, three assists and one steal. 
• Natalie Fraioli recorded nine rebounds, eight points, two assists and one takeaway. 
• Amanda DeAngelis added nine rebounds, six points, two assists, one steal and one block off the bench.  

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams defeated Nichols for the second straight meeting to move to 11-12 all-time against the Bison. 
• On the road, Suffolk is now 4-8 versus Nichols. 
• The Rams are 6-1 against the Bison in the Ed Leyden era. 
• Welling had her third double-double of the season, first since Salem State Nov. 15, 2021, and fifth of her collegiate career.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk concludes its regular-season home slate Wednesday, Feb. 16 against No. 16 Roger Williams at 5:30 p.m.