Alex Hall
Journal Staff
Suffolk University’s women’s basketball team has continued their best impression of the 1995 Chicago Bulls, with a 12-5 record on the season. Winning eight of their last 11 games, the Lady Rams are just one game behind Emmanuel for the top spot in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.
It’s been a season where the contests are either nail-biting affairs or blowouts for Suffolk, with several of their games decided by six points or less as well as more than a few out double-digit victories under their belts.
Offensively, the Lady Rams are getting stellar production from junior Jacqueline Vienneau who is shooting 38 percent from the field and close to 33 from three point range. She’s not the only one putting up points for this team however, with others such as seniors Mary Garon and Meghan Black both making over 33 percent of their shots from anywhere on the court.
On the defensive side, Suffolk has been stingy to say the least, giving up just 53 points per game. Opponents aren’t getting many open looks against this Suffolk squad, who boast the best field goal percentage defense in all the GNAC.
The defense has been a team effort, but the younger members of the squad have been the top contributors. Sophomore Jennifer Ruys and freshman Tori Brillaud have been racking up the rebounds, as they both are averaging close to seven per game and a combined 154 this season.
Head Coach Ed Leyden has had his team playing nothing short of consistent basketball all season, but with their recent winning streak, this team is hitting its stride at the right time. The women’s basketball regular season is just eight games away from concluding and with seven of those games being inter-conference contests.
That means that Suffolk has a prime opportunity to grab the top spot in the conference, with their game this Saturday being perhaps their most important game left. They’ll be taking on second place Saint Joseph’s of Maine on the road with a chance to move ahead of their conference rivals.
Luckily for the blue and gold, they have three games against some of the GNAC’s less fortunate teams in Pine Manor, Anna Maria and St. Joseph of Connecticut towards the end of the regular season. Victories against those three schools could help cement Suffolk as the first place team or it could serve as a chance to make up for a skid if the team were to lose its next few games.
The Lady Rams’ next home game will be against seventh ranked Albertus Magnus at 7 p.m. Thursday.
