Women’s Basketball Wins Fourth Straight
Framingham, Mass. - Junior forward Jill Johnson (Mansfield, Mass.) scored a team-high 13 points to lead the Framingham State College women's basketball team to a 57-48 victory today over the Fitchburg State Falcons at Framingham's Athletic Center in Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball action.
The Rams have now won four straight including three conference wins and five of their last seven to climb over the .500 mark on the season at 9-8. Framingham State snaps an 11-game losing streak against the Falcons dating back to 2003 as they improve to 3-4 in the MASCAC. With the loss, the Falcons dip below .500 at 9-10 overall and 3-4 in conference.
In a back and forth first half that saw four ties and four lead changes, the Rams opened up the largest lead of the frame, 23-18, with 4:21 remaining. The Falcons went on a 5-0 run sparked by junior forward Melissa Proffitt (Hubbardston, Mass.), who scored four of the five points, to even the game at 23-23 before Johnson stole the ball and sank a lay-up as time expired giving the Rams a two point lead at the break.
Leading by two (30-28) with 15:54 remaining, the Rams rattled off a 15-3 run capped by a three from Johnson to open up their largest lead of the game, 40-31, with 8:33 left.
The Falcons responded with an 11-0 run of their own fueled by three threes from junior guard Kim Duprey (Bernardston, Mass.) to take a 42-40 advantage with 6:03 left. Prior to Duprey's threes, the Falcons were 0-for-8 from behind the line in the game.
The Rams regrouped and after back-to-back threes from freshman guard Nicole Meyer (North Attleboro, Mass.) and another trifecta from Johnson the Rams regained control of the game opening up a seven point advantage with 2:52 remaining.
Fitchburg State was forced to foul down the stretch and the Rams went 2 for 7 from the line in the final two minutes but three offensive rebounds on their own misses helped the Rams seal the win.
The Falcons struggled from the floor in the game shooting just 29.6% and 23% from behind the arc, while the Rams had one of their better shooting games of the season as they shot 39% from behind the arc and 41% from the field.
Johnson, who finished the game 3-of-7 from behind the arc, led a trio of Rams in double figures. Junior Nicole McConaghy (Medford, Mass.) and freshman Kia Minor (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) chipped in 10 points apiece. McConaghy had eight assists and four steals to go with her ten, while Minor added six boards. Sophomore Emily Clark (Melrose, Mass.) just missed a double double with eight points and a team-high nine boards to go along with three blocks.
The Falcons were led by junior Kelley Rogers (Lowell, Mass.) who finished with a double double - 10 points and 11 boards, while sophomore Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, Mass.) just missed a double double with eight points and 11 boards. Duprey finished the game with nine points for the Falcons.
The Rams return to action on Tuesday as they host MASCAC rival Bridgewater State at 5:30 p.m., while the Falcons host Rhode Island College on Tuesday also at 5:30 p.m.