Rams Pull Away In Win Over Vikings

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications 

SALEM, Mass. -- Lauren Romito (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Jordan Moreau (North Kingstown, R.I.) combined for 22 points as Suffolk University took down Salem State 79-61 on Monday night at Twohig Gymnasium. The Rams remain unbeaten at 4-0 on the season while the Vikings dropped to 4-2.  

The Rams were led by the impressive performance of Romito, who scored 12 points, making5 blocks, with 5 assists, and 9 rebounds, while also going 5-7 from the field goal. On the other hand, Abuk Teng (Manchester, N.H.) was the standout player for the Vikings, recording her third double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while also going 9-14 from the field.

Teng spoke about her double-double performance. "We knew coming into this game it was going to be hard to try to get the ball up because they were definitely taller, but I either kicked it out or drove and it kind of worked out for me." 

The Vikings managed to score first with a two-pointer by Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.), but the Rams quickly responded with a 14-2 run, highlighted by Romito's eight points. The Vikings called a timeout, but the Rams added two more points before Teng's layup ended the run. 

After the game coach White talked about the run the Rams went on during the period. "We weren't boxing out, we weren't closing out on shooters. We just didn't have enough urgency on defense."  

The Vikings were down by 10 points heading into the second period, with the score at 20-10. Salem State was looking to bounce back during the second period, but Claire Berkowitz's (Blauvelt, N.Y.) back-to-back three-pointers forced coach White to call a full timeout. As the game progressed, the Vikings found themselves down by 16 points, and midway through the period, they were down by 19 points. The Rams' three-pointers were hurting the Vikings throughout the game and Salem State wasn't playing aggressively. They started the game slow, which forced them to be down by 22 at the half by a score of 47-25.

Coach White expressed what  the message was at the half for her team to get back in the game. "That we are still in this game. We just have to cut it to ten by the fourth [period],  but to go on a run we needed to get some stops and finish with the box out."  

At the half, Suffolk's Romito led the charge with 10 points and four blocks, while also going 4 for 5 from the field goal. Amanda DeAngelis (Londonderry, N.H.) led the team with seven rebounds. For the Vikings, Teng led the team with 13 points and eight rebounds, while also going 5 for 9 from the field goal. Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) had five steals. 

The Vikings were looking for a strong second half to overtake the Rams, but Suffolk began the second half with a 6-2 run, highlighted by Moreau's two three-pointers. Late during the period, Teng scored eight points, including a two-pointer. Salem State was down by 27 points, with the score at 70-43 heading into the last period of regulation. 

Salem State started off the final 10 minutes of regulation on a high note, starting on a 9-0 run, highlighted by Gates scoring five points, which forced coach Leyden to call a full timeout.  

Abuk spoke about the run. "I definitely think it was our intensity. We know what we wanted to do when we got into the last quarter. We just switched our defense as well so that definitely helped us get some rebounds."  

After the timeout, the Rams started with a 5-0 run, highlighted by Madi Mahoney's (Derry, N.H.) three-pointer. The Rams then held on to defeat the Vikings by 18 points.  

Salem State will be looking to bounce back on Wednesday night at Twohig Gymnasium when they face Clark.  Game Time is at 7 p.m.