Bourikas shoots for history

While she may not be a history major, fifth-year senior Georgia Bourikas went down in the history books Thursday night becoming the 14th Lady Ram in women’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points.

Appearing in her 100th collegiate game, Bourikas stepped onto the Lady Rams’ home court against Anna Maria College three points shy of the 1,000-point mark. Bourikas clinched her spot in the Lady Rams’ archives and helped the team to a 92-57 victory against the Amcats.

This season, Bourikas has averaged a personal best of 14 points and 30 minutes of playing time per game.

“Overall it was overwhelming with the love and support from everybody,” said Bourikas in an interview with The Suffolk Journal on Tuesday.

Bourikas was the first Lady Ram since Iliana Quadri, ‘14, to notch this achievement. Having previously played with Quadri, it was a goal of Bourikas’ to live up to those kinds of expectations.

“It was on my mind, but the back of my mind,” said Bourikas. “I would have rather gotten a win than score a ton of points.”

During her sophomore year on the team, Bourikas was shut down with a torn ACL just ten days shy of the teams first practice.

Bourikas was unsure of how she would ever come back from her injury. After her recovery, to her surprise, basketball still came with ease and she pushed forward to become a top performer on the team in hopes to see her name hang on a banner in Regan Gymnasium.

“There is no one more deserving,” said co-captain Alex Nagri in an interview with The Journal. “She hasn’t complained once in five years and she just puts in the work day in and day out.”

Head coach Ed Leyden said it is helpful to have Bourikas and Nagri as captains of the Lady Rams because of their maturity level. He explained that this is essential, especially when you have a team that includes seven underclassmen.

“They know how to pace the season and when things go wrong to keep everyone cheerful and counting their blessings,” said Leyden in an interview with The Journal on Tuesday. “It’s really important that  [this attitude] comes from the locker room and not the coach.”

While she has been a key asset in helping the Lady Rams win games, Bourikas has also been a dedicated teammate. She explained that she hopes to leave a lasting impact on the younger players so they can continue to progress in the program with a positive mentality.

“Basketball is important but who they are as people is important too and taking care of themselves,” said Bourikas.

With nearly a week and a half left in the regular season, the Lady Rams hold a record of 16-6.

Suffolk will look to face off against competitors such as Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in the upcoming playoffs. Earlier in the season the Lady Rams, after letting a solid lead slip, lost a close game to the Monks, 82-79.

“The big goal is to win the league and we feel that that’s realistic,” said Leyden.