Women’s Basketball Closes First Semester with 54-49 Victory over Johnson & Wales
Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University women's basketball team closed the first half of their season with a 54-49 victory over Johnson & Wales University this evening in non-conference women's basketball action.
With the win, the Rams extend their current win streak to five games as they improve to 7-2 on the year, while the Wildcats fall to 2-7 with the loss.
Johnson & Wales started the game with a 9-2 run highlighted by a three pointer from senior Kaitlyn Lefort (Pawtucket, R.I.). The Wildcats capitalized on three Framingham turnovers in the game's first five minutes and took advantage of the Rams slow start from the floor as they started 0-of-5 from the field.
Freshman guard Nicole Bostic (North Easton, Mass.) hit senior Emily Clark (Melrose, Mass.) in the lane and Clark connected on the Rams first basket of the game at 13:14 that started the Rams on a 15-0 run that would give them a 17-9 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first. The Rams used their defense to climb back in the game as they forced JWU to turn over the ball over with their full court pressure. Clark scored nine points for the Rams on the run.
The Wildcats chipped away at the Rams lead over the final eight minutes of the first and used a pair of Katurah Andrews (Hartford, Conn.) free throws to cut the deficit to three (25-22) at the half.
The two teams traded baskets to start the second half and a Jenna Juron (Burnt Hills, NY) free throw cut the Rams lead to two (29-27) with 15:37 remaining in the game, but the Rams used a 14-4 run over the next six minutes to open up the game's largest lead, 43-31.
Johnson & Wales cut into the Rams lead with another trifecta from Lefort and a Marina Millian (Chester, NY) jumper, but a Bostic three pointer and a pair of free throws from junior Patrecia Bradshaw (Cambridge, Mass.) pushed the Rams lead back to 12 (52-40) with 5:04 remaining.
A quick 9-0 run by the Wildcats cut the Rams lead to three with 2:34 left. Juron sparked the Wildcat run with three free throws and a jumper from just inside the arc. A Bostic free throw with 1:33 on the clock ended a four minute scoring drought for the Rams and pushed their lead back to four. Johnson and Wales was unable to get any closer as they turned the ball over twice in the final 1:33 and went 0-for-3 from the field.
Clark finished the game 5-of-8 from the floor for 13 points, while Bostic was the only other Ram to record double figures with 12 points including 7-of-11 from the line. Junior Michelle Hagerty (Somerville, Mass.) led the Rams, who held a 42-37 advantage on the boards, with a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Kia Minor (Edgartown, Mass.) and Bradshaw also had solid games for the Rams as they finished with nine and eight points respectively.
The Wildcats were led by Juron who finished with 13 points on just 4-of-13 shooting from the floor, while Millian finished with seven. Freshman Samantha Hendrick (Castleton-On-Hudson, NY) grabbed a team-high seven boards, and Andrews, Lefort and Ayla Walter (Mt. Pleasant, SC) chipped in six points apiece.
The Rams return to action after the New Year on January 3rd at Nichols at 7 p.m., while the Wildcats host Fisher on Saturday at 5 p.m.