BOSTON – Suffolk women's basketball fell to Bridgewater State in its 40th season opener, 63-51, Thursday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 51 | Bridgewater State 63
RECORDS: Suffolk (0-1) | Bridgewater State (2-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
An even opening say the lead flip twice and the score level at 7-all 2:19 into the action. The Bears scored 12 straight to put the Rams in a 19-7 hole with 3:51 remaining in the opening quarter.
Madi Mahoney got the Rams offense going on the blue-and-gold's possession, but it did not spark a Suffolk run. Instead the teams traded points and Bridgewater remained in front, 25-16, at the end of the first 10 minutes. Sydney Bradbury played a major role for the visitors in the first quarter as the floor general poured in 14 of the Bears 25 points.
BSU built a 10-point cushion early on in the second stanza that it held onto until Amanda DeAngelis found her grove. The junior captain went on her own 6-2 run to pull the Rams within six, 33-27, with 2:21 to go before halftime.
Suffolk limited the Bears to just a freebie over the final two minutes and Arlenis Veloz converted a layup to bring the host within two possession, 34-29, at halftime.
Bridgewater scored the first bucket out of the locker room, but it was the Rams from there as they went on a 10-0 run to take a 39-36 lead at the midway mark of the third quarter. In that stretch, featured four points from Katie Kirsch, three by DeAngelis and a hoop apiece from Veloz and Mahoney.
In a game of runs, the Bears responded with one of their one with six unanswered points to flip the script in their favor, 45-39, with just over four minutes to play in the third.
The back-and-forth continued, this time Suffolk rattled off five points in a row to make it a one-point ball game, 45-44. Things stayed there until Kylee Piche converted a trip to the free throw line to two points for the Bears to give the visitors a 47-44 edge with 30 minutes in the books.
See-saw action allowed Bridgewater to keep the advantage, 54-47, and Ed Leyden used his fifth and final timeout less than two minutes into the final frame of regulation.
Scoring lulls on either side kept the seven-point gap still. The Bears figured out their draught first and capitalized to gain a 12-point margin, 61-49, with 2:24 left on the clock.
DeAngelis got Suffolk's scoring going on the Rams next possession, but it would be the last hoop that the blue-and-gold converted the rest of the way.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- DeAngelis had an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double with two blocks, one helper and one takeaway. She was the only Ram in double figures.
- Kirsh supplied 14 caroms, eight points and two steals.
- Maddie Stewart logged seven points, five boards and one steal.
- Suffolk shot just 26.9 percent (18-67) from the field, 14.3 percent (1-7) from downtown and 58.3 percent (14-24) at the line.
- Bridgewater, who saw two players in double digits in Bradbury (19) and Kylie Grassis (12), shot 30.9 percent (21-68) from the floor as a group, 23.8 percent from 3-point land (5-12) and 69.6 percent (16-23) at the charity stripe.
- The Rams held the advantage on the glass, 53-51.
- The Bears used Suffolk's 22 turnovers and turned them into 23 points.
- Second chances played in the blue-and-gold favors with 13 points coming off the Rams offensive rebounds.
NOTEWORTHY
- Suffolk played on its home hardwood, Smith Court, for the fifth straight season debut and sixth time overall.
- The Rams opened their season with Bridgewater State for the first time.
- Colby Casey, Veloz, Mia Fantauzzi, Colby Guinta, Ellie Moffat and Kendall Jacques made their collegiate debuts.
- Mahoney and Kirsch played their first game as Suffolk Rams.
- DeAngelis had her fourth collegiate double-double, first since Feb. 5, 2022 against Salve Regina.
- Stewart matched a career-high in steals (1).
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk has the weekend off to prep for its Tuesday, Nov. 15 tilt against Salem State. The Vikings are set to visit Smith Court for a 7 p.m. tip-off.