Last Second Basket Lifts Westfield State to 80-78 Victory over Women's Basketball

Framingham, Mass. – Junior Kierra McCarthy converted a driving layup with 7.3 second remaining to lift the Westfield State University women's basketball team to an 80-78 victory over the Framingham State University women's basketball team this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Athletic Center.

THE BASICS:

- Score:  Westfield State 80, Framingham State 78

- Records: Framingham State (11-5, 3-1 MASCAC), Westfield State (9-7, 3-0 MASCAC)

- Location: Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Owls opened the game with a 10-0 run over the first three minutes capped by a three from junior Kierra McCarthy (Ludlow, Mass.).
• Junior Mary Kate O'Day (Berlin, Mass.) got the Rams on the board with a bucket and free throw and a three from sophomore Abbey Battaini (Haverhill, Mass.) cut the deficit to 10-6 with just over four minutes remaining in the first.
• The Owls extended their first quarter lead to 21-6 with an 11-0 run over the next two and a half minutes before taking a 23-10 lead after one.
• The Owls extended their lead to 16 on a three from junior Chelsea Moussette (Southampton, Mass.) just over two minutes into the second.
• The Rams would outscore the Owls 27-4 over the next seven minutes taking a 39-32 lead before a McCarthy bucket would send the game to the locker room with the Rams leading 39-34. 
• The Rams connected on six threes in the second quarter and received a pair from sophomore Camille Desrochers (Westford, Mass.) and a pair from junior Emily Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.), who scored 10 in the quarter.
• The Rams led by six, 42-36, on a three from Velozo just over a minute into the third quarter.
• A put back from McCarthy with just over eight minutes remaining cut the gap to 42-39 and was the 1,000^th career point for McCarthy.
• The Rams maintained the lead until a Barrett layup with 2:19 remaining in the quarter tied the game at 51-51. 
• Barrett put the Owls in the lead 54-51 with a three, but the Rams tied the game at 54-54 after a pair of free throws from junior Julia Sanborn (Dracut, Mass.). Battaini put the Rams ahead with a three with 22 seconds remaining in the quarter as the Rams led 57-54 after three.
• The Rams used a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter to take a ten point lead, 66-56.  Battaini and Velozo both connected from long range on the spurt.
• Westfield State cut the Rams lead to seven on a layup from Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.) with 6:08 on the clock, but the Rams scored four straight on layups from senior Tiphani Harris (Revere, Mass.) and Desrochers giving the Rams their largest lead of the game (72-61) with 5:02 on the clock.
• Westfield State chipped away at the lead and pulled within one (74-73) on a free throw from McCarthy.
• Westfield fouled on the Rams ensuing possession and O'Day sank both free throws pushing the advantage back to three (76-73) with 52.5 left.
• A three from senior Allison Hester (Sutton, Mass.) tied the game at 76-76 with 41 seconds left.  Westfield fouled on the following possession and O'Day sank both putting the Rams back up two with 40.7 left.
• After a timeout the Owls advanced the ball and McCarthy converted on a drive retying the game at 78-78.
• The Rams missed on the ensuing possession and a jump ball was called on the rebound giving possession to the Owls with 7.3 remaining. The Owls called timeout to advance the ball and McCarthy once again converted a drive with 2.3 left.  The Rams inbounded and were unable to get a good look off.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Velozo paced the Rams with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Velozo connected on eight-of-12 from the floor in the game.
• O'Day finished the game with a double double of 21 points and 10 boards with five assists and two steals.  Battaini finished the game connecting on four-of-eight from behind the arc for 18 points, while Desrochers finished with eight.
• McCarthy finished with a game-high 26 points for the Owls, while Barrett finished with 25.  Hester added 12 points, while Moussette finished with 10.
• The Rams outscored the Owls 29-11 in the second quarter and shot 78.6% from the floor in the frame (11-14) and were a perfect six-of-six from behind the arc.

UP NEXT:

The Rams are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host Bridgewater State in a MASCAC match-up beginning at 3 p.m., while the Owls host Salem State in a MASCAC tilt on Saturday at 2 p.m.