Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Sports

While the Men's Hockey and Basketball teams were away on business last week, the Lady Rams were looking to continue their dominance at home, having suffered only one loss at Regan Gymnasium on the season. With a stifling defense and an unselfish offense, the women's hoops squad handily defeated the Newbury College Nighthawks by a score of 80-35 on Tuesday, Jan. 29th.
Senior Katie Castignetti led the Lady Rams with 16 points, and also collected six rebounds. Fellow senior Gillian Brignac added nine points and four rebounds, while freshman Christie Iwanicki chipped in eight points and ten rebounds.
The Rams used a relentless press to hold the understaffed Nighthawks, who only dressed seven players, to just 16 first half points, while consistently forcing turnovers and low-percentage shots. The high-pressure defense caused the Nighthawks to commit 25 turnovers, and shoot only 29 percent from the field.
"Generally we press more than anyone else," said head coach Ed Leyden. "Our team is in fantastic condition and we press every day in practice. Presses can be relentless and lead to 'runs' of scoring."
After falling behind, the Lady Rams took control were able to take control with their defense. Early in the first half, Suffolk forced Newbury to commit three straight turnovers, forcing the Nighthawks to take a timeout and regroup. They would score on the following possession, to make the score 18-9 in favor of the Lady Rams.
Newbury would not score another basket for nearly 10 minutes, as the Lady Rams went on one of the runs that Leyden mentioned, a 16-0 run to push their lead to 34-9 with 3:32 to go in the first half.
Newbury was forced to take another timeout in an attempt to stem the tide, during which head coach Katie Greene could be heard yelling at her team, at one point saying "You look like a team that's never played basketball before!"
Newbury senior Jessica Lightfoot hit a three-pointer after the timeout to end Suffolk's run, but the damage had been done, and the Lady Rams entered the locker room with a comfortable 41-16 lead at the half.
Despite the big cushion, the Lady Rams continued to play strong basketball in the second half. Newbury was unable to get into any type of rhythm offensively, making a comeback impossible. The Nighthawks were forced to work the ball around the perimeter and take shots from outside as the shot clock expired, unable to get any penetration through Suffolk's airtight defense.

Continued...

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