Women’s Basketball Pulls Out Overtime Victory 76-75 over Coast Guard
Framingham, Mass. – Sophomore Nicole Bostic (Raynham, Mass.) sank a pair of free throws with 30.9 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Framingham State University women's basketball team to a 76-75 victory over Coast Guard in non-conference action at Framingham's Athletic & Recreation Center.
With the win, the Rams are now 1-2 on the season, while the Bears even their record at 2-2.
The Rams jumped out to an 11-0 lead including a pair of buckets from senior Kia Minor (Edgartown, Mass.) and a three from sophomore Margo McCarthy (Southampton, Mass.) to start the game, while the Bears started slowly shooting 0-for-4 with four turnovers in the game's first three minutes.
The Bears answered with a run of their own (14-3) over the next six minutes to tie the game on a pair of free throws from senior Karli Collins (Delavan, WI). Collins fueled the run for the visitors with six points including four from the line.
The first half remained tight as the game was tied on two more occasions and the lead changed hands six times. The Rams used an 11-3 run late in the half to take a 34-27 lead, but the Bears cut the deficit to five heading into the locker room.
The second half mirrored the first with the game going back and forth until the Rams put together a run and opened a 10 point lead (65-55) on a Madeleine Park (Blue Hill, ME) three with 5:05 remaining in the game.
The Bears answered with a 9-0 run of their own fueled by freshman Meghan Fornaro (Charlton, Mass.) to pull within one with 2:35 on the clock.
A Minor three point play with 1:02 remaining put the Rams back up by four (70-66), but a Fornaro three from the top of the circle pulled the Bears back within one with 48 seconds remaining.
The Bears full court pressure forced a pair of turnovers from the Rams in the back court. The Bears, who picked up 26 offensive rebounds in the game, missed a pair of shots but battled on the offensive glass forcing a jump ball with 9.5 seconds left in the game. Alternate possession went to Coast Guard who worked an inbounds play for junior Kaitlin Ward (Saline, MI) who was fouled on the shot attempt with 6.3 remaining.
Ward sank the first one to tie the score at 70-70, but the second shot was waved off on a lane violation by the Bears giving the Rams one last shot in regulation. Park had a clean look at a three but her attempt rattled out send the game to overtime.
The two teams traded hoops to begin overtime and Collins put the visitors on top by one on a free throw with 48 seconds left. After another Coast Guard offensive rebound, junior Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) came up with a steal and got the ball to Bostic who was fouled. Bostic sank both putting the Rams back on top with 30.9 left in overtime.
Coast Guard had several chances in the closing seconds thanks to their offensive rebounding, but the Bears could not score the decisive bucket.
Park finished the game with 20 points for the Rams despite struggling from the field, while Hoffman added 14. Bostic and McCarthy each finished with 12 points, while Minor added 11 as the Rams starting five accounted for all but seven points in the game. McCarthy finished the game 4-of-6 from behind the arc and was a rebound away from a double double as she grabbed a team-high nine boards.
The Bears were led by Fornaro's 21 points and seven boards, while Collins finished with a double double of 18 points and a game-high 20 rebounds including 10 on the offensive glass. Sophomore Jamie Waterman (Jasper, GA) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds off the Bears bench.
The Bears struggled from the line in game shooting just 51.4% (18-35), while the Rams shot 82% from the line (19-23).
The Rams return to action on Thursday evening with a non-conference game at Suffolk University beginning at 7 p.m., while the Bears begin NEWMAC play on Wednesday evening when they host Wheaton College at 7 p.m.