Following a huge turnaround season where women’s basketball won 20 games, graduate forward Lauren Romito became the second Suffolk athlete in three seasons to win the Commonwealth Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year award.
“It was definitely such an honor to be recognized by the league, but it just goes to show that our team success led to individual accolades. We had an overall great season and it was really nice to be rewarded for it,” said Romito.
Although the team didn’t win the CCC Championship this season, they were well recognized by the conference for their success this year. Right alongside Romito was senior forward Amanda DeAngelis, who won the CCC Player of the Year award.
One of the big changes from last year’s 13-13 finish was this year’s team seemed to have had a lot more fun playing this season. Although Romito only spent one year at Suffolk, she noted that this was one of the most fun seasons she’s had playing.
“We played in a ton of highly competitive games, the CCC was super competitive this year. We had a ton of buzzer beater wins with Colby Guinta knocking down threes, we had tons of games where different people went off, every single game we had to show up as a team which just made the season a lot more fun,” said Romito.
Head coach Ed Leyden attributed this year’s turnaround to the players choosing to put last year aside and go into this season with a positive outlook.
“We thought the year before that there was too much drama, so I think everyone individually and collectively made an effort to be a great teammate, to be supportive. They made an effort to be a fountain, not a drain, which is one of our sayings,” said Leyden.
This season Romito served as a defensive anchor for the team, blocking 108 shots across 27 games. According to the CCC, this was 70 more blocks than the player with the second most blocks in the conference.
“She had a great year, she was exceptional. We played a lot of zone and funneled people to her. Very few people scored layups on us, she proved to be the glue of the defense,” said Leyden.
As an individual, Romito averaged four blocks per game. In comparison, only two teams other than Suffolk averaged more than four blocks per game.
“I would credit that to my high school experience. I was taught at a young age how to block shots. It’s definitely a skill that I’ve learned to excel in and it’s definitely a great feeling when you block someone’s shot. That’s one of the best feelings I can have as a basketball player,” said Romito.
Both Romito and DeAngelis were selected to play in the New England Women’s Basketball Association Senior All Star Game last week, playing alongside some of the best Division III players across New England.
According to Leyden, the team showed just how close they were this year by showing up to support Romito and DeAngelis at the game.
“We had just about our whole team at the All Star Game. We had more teammates supporting our players than I think any other school. It was great, it went right to the very end, the kids were great,” said Leyden.
This year’s team was a very tight-knit team with a lot of chemistry, which led to a lot of wins and a season that Leyden was impressed by. Romito’s impact was undeniable.
“I was thrilled. We were in every game. I was very proud of them. The chemistry on the team was exceptional and Lauren had a lot to do with that. Lauren makes the world a little bit sunnier and a little bit rosier, she definitely had a big impact,” said Leyden.
While this was Romito’s first and final season as a Ram, Leyden said it isn’t the end of her basketball career at Suffolk.
“She’s gonna be part of the coaching staff in some way or another. We will have her voice at Suffolk next year. Lauren’s a people person. This was her fifth year playing so she was mature and she would really try to build up and support her teammates. She was definitely a fountain on the team,” said Leyden. “You can’t be around her for any length of time and not feel good about the world, yourself and everything.”
