Suffolk University took control in the second half of play as the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team opened Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with an 82-72 loss to the Rams on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons are now 3-11 on the year and 0-1 in GNAC action, while Suffolk is 6-3 on the year and now 1-0 in league play.
Suffolk opened the contest with 12-0 run in a span of 4:21 before Aaliyah Bohannon (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored the Falcons' first bucket of the game. Albertus put together a 12-6 run to battle its way back into the game. The Falcons took their first lead of the contest at 34-33 as Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) hit a three pointer with seven seconds left in the frame. The Falcons went into the break with that one-point lead.
In the second half, Suffolk outscored the Falcons 49-38 and finished the night shooting 42.5% from the floor. With the score tied at 39 at the 18:04 mark of the second frame, Suffolk used a 9-0 run in a span of 2:04 to take a 48-39 lead. Albertus cut the score to five at 50-45 but a 10-0 run by the Rams in less than three minutes pushed their lead up to 15 points at 60-45.
Sutila finished the half 3-of-6 from three-point land and tallied 11 of her 18 points in the second frame.
Senior Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.), who led the Falcons with 19 points, tallied double figures in scoring for the 13th time this season. Olivia Sutherland (Wallingford, Conn.) came off the bench to play 16 minutes and tally eight points for the Falcons.
Kelsey Pendagast (Shelton, Conn.), who played in her first game since a season-ending injury last year, added six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the floor. Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) had eight points and seven rebounds.
Suffolk was led in the win by five different players in double figures. Freshman Chelsea Campellone led her team with 17 points, while Jennifer Ruys, a Wallingford, Conn. native, added 16 points. Shelby Santini added 13 points, while Illiana Qudari and Emily Anderson chipped in with 12.
The Falcons return to action on Tuesday night when they host Anna Maria College in a 7:00 p.m. contest in New Haven.
