NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College couldn't stop the winning streak of visiting Suffolk University, who collected their eighth straight victory by handing the Mustangs a 72-51 defeat in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
Trish Liotta (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) (ten points) and Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass.) (11 points) were both in double-figures for the Mustangs, but Suffolk got double-doubles from both Caitlyn Caramello (Rever, Mass.) and Alexis Hackett (Charlton, Mass.) to continue their perfect record since the calendar turned to 2017.
Caramello scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Hackett also collected 12 boards, aiding in a 61-45 rebounding margin for the visitors. She had ten points, while Marissa Gudauskas (Bolton, Conn.) added eleven points on 3-4 shooting from behind the three-point line for Suffolk, who are the second straight team to have multiple players collect double-doubles against the Mustangs.
The Mustangs kept pace early and held a 9-7 lead midway through the first quarter when Muir hit a three-point jump shot but despite five of her seven points in the first from Jaime Moscato (Taunton, Mass.), Suffolk seized a 17-14 lead after one quarter.
Gudauskas made back to back triples to open the second quarter and the Rams were off and running. They scored the last eight points of the half to extend their lead to 13 points, 38-25, holding Mount Ida to just 11 points in the second quarter and just 26.5% shooting from the floor in the game.
Struggles from long range were problematic for the Mustangs as well, as they shot just 5-28 from behind the three-point line, while Suffolk was an efficient 4-9 from long range and shot 34.7% from the floor. The Ram's lead never dropped back to single digits, and reached as much as 27 points midway through the fourth quarter.
Both team's reserves performed well, as Suffolk held a 36-30 advantage in points off the bench. That included nine points from Katelyn Rourke (Watertown, Mass.), who also had six rebounds and two blocks off the Suffolk pine.
Mount Ida center Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.) was limited to just one point, but did have four blocks, three assists and a team-high ten rebounds.
Mount Ida (3-13, 0-8 GNAC) is home again for their third straight game next Tuesday night when they will dip out of conference for a 6:00 pm game against local rivals Pine Manor College.
Suffolk (13-5, 8-1 GNAC) looks to keep their win streak going next Thursday with a 7:00 pm matchup against GNAC South rivals Johnson & Wales.