Women's Basketball Opens Second Half of Season with 70-65 Win Over JWU
Providence, R.I. – Forwards Kia Minor (Edgartown, Mass.) and Emily Clark (Melrose, Mass.) each picked up a double double as the Framingham State University women's basketball team opened the second half of the season with a a hard fought 70-65 victory over Johnson and Wales University in a non-conference contest at the Harborside Recreation Center on Tuesday evening.
Framingham State was paced by freshman Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) who was seeing action in her first game with the Rams this season as she collected 24 points and four rebounds. Minor notched her third double double of the season with 15 points and 12 boards, while Clark picked up her first with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
Johnson & Wales was led by senior Morgan Wilson (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) with 23 points, five rebounds and two assists while sophomore Ayla Walter (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) added 10 points and six rebounds in the setback for the Wildcats.
Framingham State jumped out to an early lead and held the 19-8 advantage on a jumper by Clark with 11:19 left in the first half. The visiting Rams led by as many as 14 in the half before a pair of free throws by JWU freshman Jenna Juron (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) cut the lead to 30-26 with 2:08 on the clock. Framingham State took the 33-28 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Wildcats continued to chip away at the lead and tied the game on n a three-pointer by Juron that made the score 38-38 with 14:34 remaining in the contest. JWU took their first lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Walter with 11:49 left in the game.
The Wildcats had the 51-50 lead before an 8-0 run, capped by a jumper by Hoffman gave the visiting Rams the 58-51 lead with 5:51 remaining. JWU was able to cut the lead to within three points several times down the stretch, but could not get any closer as Framingham State held on for the 70-65 victory.
With the loss JWU is now 3-7 for the season while Framingham is now 7-4 on the year. The Wildcats will return to action on Saturday, January 8th when they travel to Connecticut College for a non-conference contest, starting at 1 p.m., while the Rams return to action on Thursday night as they host Mt. Ida at 6 p.m.