Women's Basketball Tripped Up at UMass Boston

Boston,, Mass.-The Framingham State women's basketball team fell 61-51 to UMass Boston in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

Senior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) and sophomore Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) each recorded double-doubles, to lead UMass Boston to victory in their home opener. UMass Boston moves to 3-0 while Framingham State University slips to 2-2.

Murphy and Mathieu combined for 41 points and 29 rebounds to lead the Beacons past the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason favorite.

Murphy recorded her third-straight double-double to start the season, as she finished with a game-high 24 points and 18 rebounds, to go along with two blocks.

On the other side, Mathieu broke out of her shooting slump to start the season, as she finished 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from distance, en-route to a career-high 17 points. Mathieu tacked on a career-high 11 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double and added two assists in 32 minutes of work.

Junior Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with six points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Point guard Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) finished with a season-high 10 assists and freshman Michaela Ilebode (Malden, Mass.) led the Beacons' bench with five points in 12 minutes of action.

Framingham State was led by juniors Monta Connolly (Lynn, Mass.) with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.)  who scored 15 points and collected 15 rebounds.

Despite leading from start to finish, UMass Boston struggled to pull away from the Rams all game long, thanks to a season-high 24 turnovers.

UMass Boston held Framingham State without a made basket for the opening 6:49, as they leapt out to an 8-1 lead. Murphy was dominant in the opening frame, as she scored 11 of the Beacons' 14 points, to lead UMass Boston to a 14-5 edge after one quarter.

Mathieu lit up the scoreboard to start the second quarter, as the sophomore knocked down a pair of threes and added a jump shot, to help the Beacons open up a 22-9 lead just 1:45 into the second quarter.

Framingham State wouldn't go away though, as Rackliffe poured in nine of her 15 points to end the quarter, and cut the Beacons' lead to 29-26.

The Rams cut the deficit to 34-32 with 6:13 to go in the third quarter, but the Beacons answered back with a 9-0 run. Edwards knocked down a layup to start the run and then Shyanne Wellington (Springfield, Mass.) knocked down a jumper of her own to make it 38-32. Ilebode took over from there, as the freshman center converted an and-one and then hit two free throws to push the Beacons' lead to 43-32.

UMass Boston would continue their run to start the fourth quarter, as Murphy and Mathieu combined for eight of the Beacons' first 10 points, in a 10-0 run to push the lead out to 53-36 with 6:43 to play.

Framingham State had one last run in them, as they forced several Beacons' turnovers in the midst of a 15-2 run.

Leading by just four (55-51) with 2:26 to play, Murphy converted a big layup late in the shot clock and Chantel Jordan (Brockton, Mass.) and Burston each knocked down a pair of free throws, to account for the final 61-51 score.

UMass Boston shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the field and 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from distance on the day.

Framingham State ended the day 21-of-75 (28.0 percent) and 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) from the 3-point line.

UMass Boston will continue their three-game homestand Tuesday night, when they host Fitchburg State at 5:30 p.m. in non-conference play. The Rams travel to Mount Ida on the same day for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off.

*Release courtesy of UMass Boston sports information