NEWTON, Mass. (1/22/15) – The Lasell College women's basketball team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest to Suffolk University on Thursday evening inside the Lasell College Athletic Gymnasium 82-62. The defeat sets the Lasers back to 5-11 (1-3 GNAC), as the Rams improve to 5-10 (2-1 GNAC). 

Senior forward Justine Ryan (Norwood, Mass.) and junior guard Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.) recorded 14 and 11 points, respectively.  Stopera also helped the Lasers' offense by pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out two assists. 

Suffolk's offense was led by junior Alessandra Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.), sophomore Kelsey Schiebel (Windham, N.H.), and senior Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) who knocked down 15 points apiece.  Alessandra and senior forward Shelby Santini (Winchester, Mass.) each picked up 9 boards each keeping the ball in Suffolk's hand for much of the night. 

Heading into the second half, Suffolk held a 42-28 lead over the Lasers.  Over the opening seven minutes of action in the second stanza, the Rams went on a 20-10 run to take a 21 point advantage (62-41). The spurt was sparked with a layup converted by junior forward Chelsea Campellone (Fall River, Mass.) with 13:06 left on the clock.  Lasell responded quickly with a field goal and a three-point basket from Ryan. 

With nine minutes left in the game, junior guard Sammy Long (Staten Island, N.Y.) made back-to-back jumpers to cut the Rams lead to 11 (64-53).  Suffolk closed the match with a 6-2 run over the final 3:59 with four points from Schiebel and a layup from freshman guard Alexandra Nagri (Salem, N.H.) to make the final score 82-62 in favor of the visitors.

The Lasers return to play on Tuesday, January 27 at 7:00 p.m. when they host Mount Ida College in GNAC play. The Suffolk Rams will play at Anna Maria College in a conference contest on Saturday, January 24 at 3:00 p.m.