BOSTON, Mass. – The Regis (Mass.) women's basketball led by as much as 13 points in the third quarter, but would suffer a 75-71 loss to Suffok University on Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference thriller inside Regan Gymnasium. 

Regis (14-9, 11-3 GNAC) broke a 5-5 tie with a 6-2 run to put Suffolk (17-6, 10-4 GNAC) in a 12-7 hole. Georgia Bourikas put the Rams within one thanks to four straight points from the senior. 

The Pride responded with four points of its own and once against Suffolk trailed by six. This time Jordan Hipwell put away four consecutive points to trim the margin to two before the team's traded hoops to keep it a two-point Regis game, 19-17, after the first 10 minutes.

Suffolk ran out of the huddle to open the second stanza and grab its first lead of the day, 21-19, thanks to a bucket from Jenni-Rose DiCecco. The score tied twice and the lead was exchanged three times over the next three minutes with a traditional three-point play from Bourikas kept the Rams in front, 27-24, with 5:05 minutes before half time. 

Regis took a timeout to talk things over and used it in its momentum to flip the switch and go ahead 30-29. 

Over the final 2:42 of the first half, the teams switched the advantage twice more, before the Pride scored the final five points of the quarter to send Suffolk into the locker room down, 35-32. 

Regis ran out of half time and quickly built a 13-point cushion, 45-32. Suffolk gained composure in a timeout and strung together 10 consecutive points to pull within three, 45-42, at the midway point of the frame. 

A tightly contested contest held from there until the Pride's final possession where Alexis Hackett picked off a pass and turned it into two points to give the Rams a 56-54 edge as time expired in the third.

Suffolk carried the momentum from Hackett's go-ahead hoop into the opening of the final frame as the blue-and-gold put away the first six points of the fourth quarter to gain a 62-54 lead. The Rams defense was just as powerful as their offense holding the Pride without a point over the first 3:56 of fourth frame action. 

The runs continued down the stretch with Regis using a 5-1 stretch to cut Suffolk's edge to 65-61 with 2:40 remaining.

Down the stretch, for every hoop the Pride made the Rams answered to hold onto the lead, before Regis made things interesting in the final minute. Four quick points from the visitors trimmed Suffolk's edge to two, 73-71, with 22 seconds on the clock. From there, Bourikas handled business at the foul line to seal up the 75-71 win for the Rams. 

Bourikas had a day with a 28-point, nine-rebound performance. The senior captain shot 9-for-17 from the field, 3-for-4 from downtown and did not miss (7-7) at the charity stripe. Hacket put together a 16-point, seven-rebound effort to go along with seven dimes, three steals and one block. DiCecco rounded out the three Rams in double figures with 16 points. The floor general added five caroms, four steals and two handouts to her stat line.

As a team, Suffolk shot 41.0 percent (25-61) from the floor, 29.6 percent (8-27) from three-point land and 89.5 (17-19) from the foul line.

Regis, who saw Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) provide 29 points and 18 rebounds, out-rebounded the Rams, 45-33. 

The Pride returns to action on Saturday with its regular season Higgins Court finale against Emmanuel on Tuesday evening.

RegisWBB

Release courtesy of Suffolk University Sports Information.