Second Stanza Sends Women’s Basketball to Sixth Straight at Norwich

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Suffolk women's basketball team overcame a 15-point deficit and gained momentum at just the right time to secure a 68-63 victory over Norwich at Andrews Hall Thursday night for the Rams' sixth straight triumph. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 68, Norwich 63
RECORDS: Suffolk (11-5, 6-1 GNAC) | Norwich (8-6, 4-3 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Nearly eight minutes were removed from the clock before Suffolk connected from the field thanks to a good trey from Kelsey Schiebel. Norwich had already put in work and Schiebel's shot did not make a dent into the Cadet's 12-4 lead. Suffolk did not build momentum off of Schiebel's three and Norwich took advantage to hold an 11-point, 16-5 edge after the first ten minutes. 

The Rams lack of connection from the field continued over the next four minutes and they found themselves in a 13-point hole at the midway point of the second. Suffolk slowly climbed out of the deficit that grew as large as 15 points. Behind six points from Alexandra Clark, the Rams outscored the Cadets 10-4 over the final 3:20 of the quarter to trail by just eight, 31-23, at the half. 

Unlike the first half, Suffolk wasted no time in the second. The Rams stormed out of the locker room on a 10-2 run to knot the game at 33-all with 6:46 to play in the quarter. The score stood at a standstill for nearly two minutes before Georgia Bourikas gave the visitors their first lead of the day on a good layup. 

Suffolk built a five-point lead twice, but Norwich hung around. Back-to-back buckets from the Cadets cut the Rams' edge to just one, 46-45, at the end of the third quarter.  

Norwich put away the first hoop of the final frame, before a see-saw affair ensued. The score would equalize twice more before Ed Leyden took a timeout to talk things over with 7:34 on the clock.   

The score would even once more before the reigning NEWBA and GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week Alexis Hackett took things into her own hands. The freshman gave Suffolk its final lead of the day 54-52. Two minutes later, Hackett sparked a 5-0 Rams run with a traditional three-point play that gave the visitors their largest advantage of the evening, 63-55. 

Down the stretch the Cadets made their comeback, but the Rams kept them at bay to hold on for the 68-63 victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Bourikas was once again one rebound shy of a double-double as the senior led the comeback for the Rams with a 17-point, nine-carom performance. The guard finished the night with a 60 percent connection ate (6-10) from the field and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
• Off the bench, Hackett was second on the squad with 14 points, going 5-for-11 from the field. She added two rebounds and two handouts to her reserve performance.
• Schiebel rounded out the Rams in double figures contributing 13 points to go along with four assists, three steals and three boards.
• Katelyn Rourke paced the pack on the glass with 10 rebounds, including eight on the defensive end. The freshman pitched in five points, two assists, two blocks and one takeaway to the winning ways.
• Suffolk shot 39.7 percent from the field (23-58), just 20.0 percent (3-15) on the long ball and used successful 70.4 percent (19-27) free throw shooting to stay in the contest.
• The Cadets won the battle on the glass, 43-38, but the Rams held the advantage in steals, 10-4, and blocks 8-5.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk won its eighth straight against Norwich to move to 20-8 all-time versus the Cadets.
• The sixth consecutive win for the Rams marks the longest with streak for the blue-and-gold this season and most victories in a row since Suffolk strung six together Feb. 6-23, 2016.
• The Rams are off to their best second start since the 2007-08 season when Suffolk strung six victories together to open January 2008. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to the friendly confines of Regan Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 19 when the Rams welcome Rivier for a 7 p.m. contest.