Women's Basketball Falls to Framingham State, 66-56

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Framingham State University women's basketball team overcame a 14-point first half deficit as the host Rams posted a 66-56 victory over Bridgewater State University in MASCAC action on Wednesday evening.

The Rams are now riding a six game winning streak as they improve to 15-5 on the season and 7-1 in the MASCAC. Framingham swept the season series from the Bears who fall to 8-11 overall and 5-2 in the conference play.

Sophomore Raegan Mulherin (Baldwinville, Mass.) led all players with 19 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Junior Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) registered a double-double scoring 15 points and collecting ten rebounds.

The Rams received a strong performance from their bench as they were in foul trouble early. Sophomore Quinn O'Connell (Sterling, Mass.) added 16 points and freshman Tiphani Harris (Revere, Mass.) collected ten boards off the pine.

BSU junior Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bears, while senior Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) added 14 points of her own to go along with seven boards. Freshman Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in ten points and six rebounds.

Bridgewater State used a 13-0 run during a six-minute stretch of the second quarter to open up a 32-18 lead. Conceicao scored seven points during the spurt.

Framingham answered with an 8-1 run to close out the first half. Rackliffe scored the final five points of the stanza to pull the Rams to within 33-26 at the break.

Bridgewater made 23 trips to the charity stripe over the first 20 minutes, but went just 12-for-23 at the line. Eight of the Bears' 11 missed free throws came during the 13-0 run. 

The Rams carried the momentum into the third quarter as Mulherin and O'Connell combined to score 20 points in the period. The duo outscored the Bears 20-4 in the quarter and turned the seven-point halftime deficit into a 46-37 lead.

The Bears would chip away and cut the deficit to five (57-52) with 2:11 remaining following a Stephanie DeSantis (Walpole, Mass.) three-pointer and a Melton layup. The Rams, however, forced a key turnover on BSU's next possession and went 7-for-8 at the line in the final two minutes to seal the victory.

The Rams were 22-for-60 (37%) from the field, 7-of-18 (39%) from long range and 15-of-18 (83%) from the line. The visitors were 20-of-70 (29%) from the floor and just 3-for-21 (14%) from beyond the arc and 13-for-25 (52%) at the line.

Bridgewater held a 51-41 rebounding advantage including a 20-7 edge on the offensive glass.

The Bears return to the court on Saturday, February 6th when they host Fitchburg State at 1:00 p.m. in MASCAC action. The Rams return to the floor on the same day and time as they travel to Westfield State who is also 7-1 in conference play.