After a 21-7 season, the Lady Rams fell to St. Joseph’s College on Saturday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game 73-59. The trip marked the fifth time in Lady Rams history the team has played in a GNAC Championship.
Despite the loss, Suffolk University finished the season with the most wins since the 2013-14 season. The 2012-13 season was the last time the Lady Rams made the GNAC Championship, where they fell to Emmanuel College 68-45. During that year, the Rams finished 23-8.
“Making it to that final game has been our goal every year. We haven’t done it since I’ve been here so it was really special to do it as a senior. It just showed that our hard work paid off and we can beat anyone on any given day,” said senior captain Alex Nagri in an interview with The Suffolk Journal.
The highlight of Suffolk’s Championship run came in the semifinal game against Emmanuel College. The No. 3 Lady Rams upset No. 2 Emmanuel College 73-68. This marked the second time in program history the team has beat the Saints. The win was highlighted in double-doubles by both sophomore forward Alexis Hackett and senior guard Georgia Bourikas. Hackett added 13 points and 13 rebounds while Bourikas led the way with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
“Emmanuel has always been a rival of ours,” said Hackett in an interview with The Journal. “When I came in as a freshman, coach and I made it one of our goals to beat them. It was a pretty awesome feeling. It showed that our team can play with and beat anyone.”
Before the playoffs began, the Lady Rams were faced with a big challenge. Starting guard Nagri went down late in the regular season with an ankle injury, leaving an opening in the starting lineup and a depleted bench. Junior guard Marissa Gudauskas filled in nicely for Nagri, which included a 10- point and four-rebound performance in the Lady Rams final regular season game.
“[Nagri’s] position isn’t an easy one. She is given many of the tough defensive assignments. My teammates and coaches showed me endless support and showed they believed in me,” said Gudauskas in an interview with The Journal. “I embraced the opportunity that presented itself, played my game and had fun.”
Off the bench, freshman guard Rachel LaSaracina and junior forward Shannon Smith logged a majority of the minutes for the injured Nagri. Both were able to add quality minutes off the bench during the 68-46 quarterfinal win over Johnson and Wales University.
During the quarterfinal game, starting point guard Jenni-Rose DiCecco scored 23 points and added six rebounds and four assists for the Lady Rams. Hackett was also a game-changer, as the sophomore added 14 points and pulled down a season-high 19 rebounds, 17 of them on the defensive end.
The trip to the quarterfinal game marked the 23rd consecutive season the Lady Ram’s have qualified for the tournament. This also marked the third 20-win season in program history.
“We fought so hard the entire season and fought to the end,” said senior captain Bourikas. “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but we have nothing to hand our heads about because our overall season was incredible.”
