Trailing by four points with 11:49 to go in the second half, The Mount Ida College women's basketball team fell behind by 17 points in a four minute span en route to their fifth Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss of the season at the hands of visiting Suffolk University, 77-60, Thursday night in Newton, Massachusetts. The Mustangs fall to 8-11, 1-5 in the conference, while the Rams improve to 8-8, 3-2 in GNAC competition.
Mount Ida led immediately up 4-2 in the opening minute of the contest. It didn't last long giving up the advantage after an 11-2 run by the visitors trailing 13-6 at the 14:59 mark. The hosts tied it immediately after two consecutive lay-in's by senior Cherie Parisi (South Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) and sophomore Katie Morvan (Northbridge, MA/Northbridge) capped off on a trifecta by freshman Ashley White (Salem, MA/Salem) tying the score at 13-13.
It remained close for the next five minutes with no more than a four point margin separating the teams while the visitors maintained the small advantage. The Rams eventually pulled away by seven points after a three pointer by freshman Jackie Vienneau (Salem, NH/Central Catholic) up 34-27 with 3:42 to go in the first half.
The Mustangs cut the lead to three after a successful jumper in the lane by senior Nicole Casimiro (Lee, NH/Oyster River) trailing 34-31. The visitors made it a six point advantage at the end of the half heading into the locker room up 37-31.
The Rams started the second half commanding a 10 point lead scoring the first four points after a good jumper by sophomore Meghan Black (Roslindale, MA/Archbishop Williams) up 41-31.
Although the visitors kept a decent lead for the next couple of minutes, the Mustangs refused to go away pulling within four points (45-49) at the 11:49 mark. Unfortunately for Mount Ida, that's as close as they would get while the Rams went on a barrage of offense pulling ahead by 17 with 6:52 to go in the contest.
The visitors continued to pound the offense while the Mustangs had no answer falling behind by a game high 20 with a minute to play. The Rams ultimately rode home the 77-60 GNAC victory good for their third of the season.
The Mustangs were led by freshman Missy Collins (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford) with 15 points and four boards while Casimiro and Morvan combined for 23 points and 11 rebounds. White added eight assists and six points.
The Rams saw four players in double figures including a double-double from freshman Lindsay Rogers (Gloucester, MA/Gloucester) with 10 points and 11 caroms. Vienneau netted a game high 19 points with six assists while Black chipped in with 16 points.
The Mustangs will host GNAC foe Simmons College this coming Saturday in the back end of an afternoon double header with the men with the festivities starting at 1:00 p.m.