Women’s Basketball’s Second Half Rally Falls Short at Western New England

Framingham, Mass. – Despite a furious second half rally, the Framingham State University women's basketball team suffered a 59-55 setback to Western New England in a non-conference game at the Alumni Healthful Living Center field house on Saturday.

The Rams (3-2) began to whittle away at a 26 point deficit with 17:17 left in the second half as the squad went on a pair of 18-6 runs. Down 53-37 following a pair of Western New England (3-2) free throws with exactly 7:00 showing on the scoreboard, Framingham State made its final push. Paced by juniors Margo McCarthy (Southampton, Mass.) and Nicole Bostic (Easton, Mass.) with four points each, the squad made it a two-point game courtesy of Bostic's layup with 25 seconds left in the frame. A pair of freebies by Western New England graduate student Nicole Daly (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) iced the game with 13 ticks remaining.

A layup by senior Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) provided Framingham State with its only lead of the day with 19:02 left in the first half as the Golden Bears took the lead for good nine seconds later en route to a 38-17 advantage heading into the intermission.

Hoffman led the Rams with 10 points as McCarty added nine and Bostic chipped in with eight. Freshman Sarah Palace (Auburn, Mass.) and Junior Katelyn Iafolla (Franklin, Mass.) came off the bench to contribute with seven points apiece. McCarthy and freshman Monta Connolly (Lynn, Mass.) each hauled in six rebounds as Connolly also doled out four helpers for Framingham State.

Sophomore Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while senior Katie Eckert (Lee, Mass.) and Daly each had 13 points for Western New England.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday as the Rams entertain Curry at 6 p.m. while the Golden Bears head to Lasell for a 5:30 p.m. tip.

Contributions from Western New England Sports Information