Sophomore Shooters Surge Women’s Basketball Through Bridgewater State
Framingham, Mass.-Framingham State sophomores Raegan Mulherin (Baldwinville, Mass.) and Quinn O'Connell (Sterling, Mass.) combined for 20 third-quarter points to lead the Rams over Bridgewater State by a score of 66-56 in MASCAC action Wednesday evening in Framingham. The Rams are now riding a 6 game winning streak as they improve to 15-5 and 7-1 in league play. The Bears fall to 8-11 and 5-2 in the league with both conference losses coming at the hands of Rams.
Mulherin led all players with 19 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Junior Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) registered a double-double scoring 15 points and collecting 10 rebounds. The Rams got a strong performance from their bench as they were in foul trouble early. O'Connell added 16 points and freshman Tiphani Harris (Revere, Mass.) collected 10 boards off the pine.
The Bears Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards while Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) added 14 points of her own.
The Rams opened up scoring by going up 5 in the opening minutes. However, the Bears took control of play and led by 5 at the end of the 1st quarter. The Rams cut the lead to 1 in the opening minute of the 2nd frame but the Bears rattled off a 13-0 run over the next 6 minutes to take a 32-18 lead. The Rams rebounded towards the end of the half as Rackliffe scored the final 5 points on the stanza to cut the Bears lead to 33-26 at the break.
After trading baskets for the first two minutes of the second half the Rams sophomore shooters went off. The duo scored 20 straight points to push the Rams lead to 46-37. Mulherin dropped 11 points on the run including 3 from long range. O'Connell added 9 points while not missing a shot on the run. The Bears would chip away and cut the deficit to 5 points in the final minutes but the Rams would go 7-for-8 at the line in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
The Rams were 22-for-60 (36.7%) from the field, 7-of-18 (38.9%) from long range and 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the line. The visitors were 20-of-70 (28.6%) from the floor and were only 3-for-21 (14.3%) from beyond the arch.
The Bears return to the court on Saturday, February 6th when they host Fitchburg State at 1:00 p.m. in MASCAC action. The Rams return to the floor on the same day and time as they travel to Westfield State who is also 7-1 in conference play.