Women's Basketball Falls to Suffolk 65-55

BOSTON, Mass. (December 4, 2021) – The Western New England women's basketball team continued CCC play today on the road at Suffolk where the Golden Bears came up short 65-55.

Records:

• Suffolk: 6-2, 1-1 CCC
• Western New England: 3-5, 1-1 CCC

How It Happened:

The Rams opened the game with the first points only for Abby Garaban to respond for the Golden Bears with a three to take a 3-2 lead early. The Rams answered with their own three and then a jumper to take a 7-3 lead. Alexia Leon made a jump shot at the other end for the Golden Bears before Grace Fisher earned two free throws and made both to earn the lead for Western New England once against (8-7). Shaina Cooney extended the lead with a layup at the 5:07 mark before making a pair of foul shots to lead 12-7. Both teams made two free throws apiece before Suffolk made a layup only for Lindsey Carey to answer for the Golden Bears to keep their five-point lead (16-11). The quarter ended with a 4-2 stretch by the Rams to get within three (18-15) heading into the second quarter.

The Rams scored the first basket of the second quarter as well before Emma Kahn made a layup for the Golden Bears. The back-and-forth action then began with the two teams trading baskets. At 5:15 the Rams tied the game 23-23 before Leon struck again with a jumper to keep the Golden Bears ahead. Suffolk tied the game 25-25 and again Leon made a basket to keep Western New England in the lead and then continued her scoring spree with a pair of free throws to lead 29-25 with 2:34 left in the half. The Rams gained some momentum and ended the half with an 8-0 run to lead 33-29 headed into halftime.

In the second half the Rams continued with their momentum making a three to earn their largest lead of the game 36-29. Garaban ended the streak for the Rams only for Suffolk to make two free throws on their next possession. The two teams began trading baskets before the Golden Bears strung together two baskets from Garaban and Kahn to get within four (40-36) with 5:59 left in the third quarter. A jumper by the Rams at 4:50 extended their lead back to six (42-36) and forced the Golden Bears into a timeout. After the timeout, Cooney made a layup from Leon only for the Rams to hit a three at the other end. This kickstarted the Rams to score eight more points in a row to lead 53-38 with just 1:15 left in the quarter. Garaban ended the run for the Rams with a jumper at 52 seconds to end the third quarter trailing the Rams 53-40.

The fourth quarter opened with a three by the Rams before Fisher made a layup at the other end for the Golden Bears. This started the back-and-forth action before the Rams put together four points to lead 63-44 over the Golden Bears with 6:17 left in the game. Caitlyn Hunt got on the board for the Golden Bears with a layup to start a run for Western New England where Leon hit a jumper and Hunt made another layup for the Golden Bears to trail 63-50. At 3:18 the Rams made a layup to extend their lead to 15 (65-50). The final two baskets of the game came from Leon with a jumper and a three to get the Golden Bears within 10 (65-55) when time expired. Western New England was unable to make the come back and dropped to Suffolk 65-55.

Inside the Numbers:

• The Golden Bears shot 33.9 percent from the floor, 18.2 percent from three, and 73.3 percent from the foul line while grabbing 41 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
• Leon led the team with 15 points while Cooney came off the bench to add 10.
• Garaban almost had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds while Kahn added eight points in the game.

Up Next:

The Golden Bears return to Springfield on Tuesday, December 7^th when they host conference foe Gordon at 5:30 p.m.