The beauty of sports, when you get knocked down, you try to get right back up. The Suffolk University women’s basketball team did just that this past week.
The Lady Rams lost their first conference game against Rivier last Saturday, putting in a poor second half in which they were outscored 36-26. Shelby Santini and Iliana Quadri led in scoring combining for 27 of the 54 points scored for the Lady Rams.
The loss was a crushing defeat at home, but the Lady Rams had to go on the road and face the University of Saint Joseph Blue Jays to prevent a losing streak.
The Lady Rams were 7-4 going into this game and it was a game that they could not afford to lose or they would drop further down into the shockingly top-heavy conference. The Blue Jays are a competitive team and they let the Lady Rams know that right out of the gate.
The game was won in the closing minutes of the first half, where the Lady Rams went on a 12-1 run to close out the half with an 11-point lead. That led to the second half, which was treated like any tight scoring game, and the Lady Rams just answered the Blue Jays for every score.
Santini was a key player for the Lady Rams, she stepped up for the team, which was already short of its captain and centerpiece Jennifer Ruys. She scored a career high 22 points, and did well for having the pressure of a handful of the shot recording 9-20 field goals.
The GNAC is going to be competitive as ever, so games like the one they won against the Blue Jays are must win games in order to stay in the hunt for the post-season. The Lady Rams proved even without their best player that they can still manage to win games.
Quadri also had an impressive game putting up 19 points, grabbing six rebounds at the guard position, and was a nice combination with both Santini and freshman guard Georgia Bourikas coming off the bench.
Bourikas averages 5.3 points per game, that is the most anyone averages off the bench this season.
Other freshman guard, starter Kelsey Schiebel, only scored two points against the Blue Jays, but averages the fourth most points on the team with 5.9 per game. The fact she is starting as a freshman contributing crucial minutes to the team is really going to be a test against all of the top GNAC teams this season.
The Lady Rams (8-4) have a two-game week ahead of them, both on the road. Thursday night, they play at Endicott, followed by a Saturday match-up against Simmons, who is currently (2-11) overall.
The Lady Rams are currently fourth in the GNAC, so if they want to keep up with the rest of the conference, these seemingly easy games are ones they cannot afford to sleep on.
