Women’s Basketball Holds Off Late Rally by Suffolk, 62-61, in Home Opener

Framingham, Mass. – Junior Katelyn Iafolla (Franklin, Mass.) drained 16 points while sophomore Kerry Coyne (North Attleboro, Mass.) hit a jumper with less than a minute left to push the Framingham State University women's basketball team's lead to 10 as the host Rams held off a Suffolk rally for a 62-61 non-conference triumph on Thursday night at Framingham's Athletic Center. With the win, Framingham State improved to 3-1 on the young season while Suffolk suffered its first setback and fell to 2-1.

Junior Margo McCarthy (Southampton, Mass.) scored 13 points and senior Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) chipped in with eight. Junior Samantha Irvine (Franklin, Mass.) and sophomore Kerry Coyne (North Attleboro, Mass.) each hauled in six boards as Hoffman and McCarthy doled out four helpers each.

Senior Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, Conn.) recorded a double-double as she netted a game-best 23 points and 10 rebounds for Suffolk. Junior Shelby Santini (Winchester, Mass.) added 16 points and seven steals as junior Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) scored a dozen for the guest Rams.

Santini knocked down a three to spark an 11-2 run with just over three minutes to play which featured a trio of deuces a pair of free throws by Ruys. 

The first half saw neither team push ahead with more than four points and saw five lead changes and five ties as Framingham State went into the locker room with a 30-26 advantage.

Sophomore Alessandra Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) hit a three pointer with 12:50 left in the second half to cap a 12-3 run by the guests for the 38-33 advantage. At the 11:33 mark, Iliana Quadri pushed the lead back to five with a three pointer of her own before the host Rams made it a one-point game courtesy of a pair of free throws each by Iafolla and freshman Carlee Putnam (Niantic, Conn.). Freshman Sarah Palace (Auburn, Mass.) then hit a layup with 10:16 remaining to give Framingham State the lead for good.

Framingham State scored 27 points off the bench and held a slim 9-6 advantage in second chance points while Suffolk had the upper hand in points off turnovers (11-8) and points in the paint (22-18).

Both teams continue their respective non-conference slates on Saturday as Framingham State heads to Western New England for a 3 p.m. game and Suffolk entertains Colby-Sawyer at 1 p.m.