Women’s Basketball Holds on for 64-60 Victory over St. Joseph’s
Framingham, Mass. – Sophomore Nicole Bostic (Raynham, Mass.) sank a layup with 12.1 seconds remaining and senior Kia Minor (Edgartown, Mass.) nailed a pair of free throws with 0.7 on the clock as the Framingham State University women's basketball team held on for a 64-60 victory over St. Joseph's College (ME) in non-conference action at Framingham's Athletic & Recreation Center.
With the win, the Rams close the first half of the season at 6-3 including a 4-0 mark at home, while the Monks are now 5-3 heading into the semester break.
The Rams opened up the early lead as they capitalized on St. Joseph's slow start as the Monks shot just 3-for-11 with ten turnovers as the Rams took an 18-9 advantage with 10:15 left in the first half.
St. Joe's responded with a run of their own over the next three minutes to tie the game and take their first lead. The Monks received five points from senior Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, VT) as they used their defensive pressure to force Rams turnovers which they converted into easy buckets during the 11-0 run.
The Rams took the lead back on a Madeleine Park (Blue Hill, ME) three (24-23) with 4:23 left and went into the locker room with a five point advantage (32-27) after Minor turned a St. Joe's turnover into an easy bucket.
The second half looked much like the first with the two teams trading the lead four times including twice in the final three minutes.
St. Joe's took the lead, 56-55, when junior Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, ME) made a steal near midcourt and found a streaking Shufelt in transition for the go ahead layup. A Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, ME) put back put the Monks up three with 2:24 on the clock.
Minor scored the Rams next five points to put the hosts back on top. She cut the deficit back to one for the Rams with a put back with 1:23 left in the game and she put them in front (60-58) after converting a three point play with 38 seconds left.
St. Joseph's quickly inbounded and moved the ball up to midcourt before calling a timeout. Out of the timeout, Shufelt hit junior Lindsay Moore (Barrington, NH), who was coming off a back screen, with a pass under the hoop and Moore converted the easy bucket tying the game, 60-60, with 31 seconds remaining.
The Rams worked the clock down on the ensuing possession with Bostic having possession on the right wing. She drove baseline and sank the game-winning bucket in traffic with 12.2 left.
St. Joe's had one last chance, but Shufelt's attempt at three rattled out and Minor grabbed the rebound. Minor was fouled and sank the two free throws to reach the final margin.
Minor led all scorers with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field to go along with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Park finished the game with 12 points and eight boards, while Bostic chipped in 10 points and five assists. Junior Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) had a solid game with nine points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Moore led a trio of Monks in double figures with a team-best 17 points on 8-of-13 from the floor to go along with eight rebounds, two steals and two assists. Shufelt finished with 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Cahill finished with the game's only double double as she scored 10 points and hauled in 10 boards including six on the offensive glass.
The Rams return to action after the New Year when they host Wellesley College on January 2nd at 6 p.m., while the Monks will participate in the Holiday Inn Express Invitational on December 28th at 5 p.m.