Women’s Basketball Falls 82-72 in MASCAC Opener to Westfield

With the victory the Owls improve to 9-4 with a 1-0 record in the league. The Rams fall to 8-3 and 0-1 in conference play.

Nkamebo finished with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds. Ashton registered 22 points, 13 assists and 8 rebounds. Jill Valley (Orange) was 7-of-12 from the floor scoring 17 points for the Owls.

The Rams had two twenty point scorers of their own. Sophomore Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills) shot 10-of-15 for twenty three points and a team high 9 boards. Classmate Sarah Palace (Auburn) tallied twenty points including two from downtown.

The Owls got out to a 17-6 advantage to start the first half but the Rams slowly chipped away. A Rackliffe basket cut the lead to 36-31 late in the first half but the Owls converted two free throws to end the half and take a 38-31 lead into the locker room.

Westfield controlled the tempo early in the second frame extending their lead to 52-40 with a Valley basket at 14:15. Then, the Rams made their push going on a 16-4 run capped by Rackliffe completing the back end of a 3-point play to tie the game at 56 with just over ten minutes to play. Westfield quickly answered scoring twelve of the next fourteen points to take a ten point lead with 6:34 to go. The Rams were not able cut the lead to less than 8 from that point on.

Westfield shot 50 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point range and 88 percent from the line. The Rams shot 46 percent from the floor, 27 percent from beyond the arc and 58 percent from the stripe.

The Owls will host Bridgewater in MASCAC action on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Rams will host Fitchburg on the same day and time.