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Posted: Feb 27, 2016

Women’s Basketball Falls in MASCAC Championship Game; 92-86

Monta Connolly & Sarah Palace
Monta Connolly & Sarah Palace
Box Score
Game Leaders
Framingham St.
Pts: Raegan Mulherin - 32
Reb: Alycia Rackliffe - 26
Ast: Lauren Donahue - 5
Westfield St.
Pts: Forbasaw Nkamebo - 19
Reb: Forbasaw Nkamebo - 9
Ast: 2 Players (#03, #20) - 5
Team Stats
Full stats

Westfield, Mass.- The Framingham State women's basketball team was defeated 92-86 by Westfield State in a thrilling MASCAC championship game at the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon. The Owls improve to 20-7 on the season and claim the conference's automatic-qualifier into the NCAA Div. III Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Rams see their season come to a close with a program record 19 wins and just 7 losses.

Rams sophomore Raegan Mulherin (Baldwinville, Mass.) scored a career-high 32 points with eight rebounds, four assists and five steals. Junior Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) registered a double-double scoring 15 points and setting a single-game school record with 26 rebounds to go along with six blocks. Sophomore Quinn O'Connell (Sterling, Mass.) added 13 points from the bench.

The Owls were paced by senior Forbasaw Nkamebo with 19 points and nine rebounds and MASCAC Player of the Year Jill Valley who scored 18 points. Kierra McCarthy added 14 points from the bench for the Owls shooting 6-of-7 from the floor.

The Rams jumped out to an early lead and carried that through most of the 1st quarter. The teams traded the lead a few times in the second quarter and the Owls scored the last four points of the half to push their halftime lead to 47-40.

The Owls extended their lead to ten points a little over halfway through the third quarter when the Rams answered with an 8-0 run highlighted by six points by Mulherin. A few moments later Rackliffe tied the game at 64 with a layup in the final minute of the 3rd.

After trading leads for start of the 4th O'Connell hit a layup with just under 7 minutes to play to give the Rams a 73-71 lead. The Owls then countered with three consecutive treys, two by Valley and one by Allison Hester to regain the lead 80-73. O'Connell answered with another three on the next possession but the Nkamebo hit a layup and Hester sunk yet another shot from long range to extend the Owls lead back to nine with just over three minutes to go. The Rams hit a jumper in the final minute to cut the lead to 89-86 but could not cut it any closer.

The Rams shot 38% from the field to the Owls 35% while the visitors were 32% from long range to Westfield's 29%. The Rams out rebounded the Owls 62 to 43 but the Owls high-pressure style forced 34 Rams turnovers to only 22 for the Owls.