Women's Basketball Holds Off Anna Maria for 64-60 Victory
Paxton, Mass. – After holding off a late surge by the AMCATS, the Framingham State University women's basketball team defeated Anna Maria College 64-60 at The Fuller Activities Center in non-conference action on Thursday night.
The win improves the Rams to 3-3, while the loss drops the AMCATS to 2-5 on the young season.
Kayla Cummings (Auburn, Maine) and Chelsea Blair (Holland, Mass.) played well for the AMCATS, as Cummings compiled a game–high 23 points, on 7-for 12 shooting including a perfect 9-for -9 from the charity stripe, and seven rebounds, while Blair chipped in with ten points and eight boards. Junior Taylor Walker (Winchendon, Mass.) added nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.
The visitors were led by senior Kia Minor's (Edgartown, Mass.) double-double, while classmate Madeleine Park (Blue Hill, ME) and junior Kristin Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) combined for 36 points. Minor connected for 15 points and 15 rebounds (11 offensive) while Park added 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Hoffman was a force on defensive end notching nine steals and scoring 19 points.
Neither team played particularly well in the first half, with Framingham shooting just 27.5% on 11-for 40, while Anna Maria was slightly better with a 37.5 % on 9-for-24. AMC held a slight 2-1 advantage on three pointers made.
The Rams built a 10-point lead 19-9 midway through the first stanza and maintained the lead at 23-13 with five minutes to play, however AMC responded with a Cummings three-point play, four points by Walker and a trey by Liz Sama (Windsor, Conn.) to tie the game at 25-25. Only a buzzer beating shot from downtown by Park gave Framingham State the 28-25 lead heading into the locker room.
Framingham opened up the second half with six points by Hoffman and a three-pointer by Park to build the lead back to 10 (37-27) just minutes into the frame.
The AMCATS refused to go quietly. Trailing by five (46-41) with 11:02 to play senior Chelsea Blair put back a missed free throw by Alison McCarthy (Lynn, Mass.), McCarthy then found freshman Lindsay Bond (Webster, Mass.) cutting to the net after a Rams' miss and Bond dished to Cummings in the paint for two and the AMCATS held their first lead 47-46 since early in the first half.
Over the next several minutes the teams traded baskets and with 6:32 remaining the game was tied at 54 apiece. A pair of Cummings free throws once again gave Anna Maria a slight two point advantage; however the Rams responded with a 7-0 run including another Hoffman trey to take a 61-56 lead with 4:28 to play.
Anna Maria cut the lead to one with baskets by Blair and Cummings but it was not enough as Framingham held on for the 64-60 victory.
Next on the docket for the AMCATS is Wheelock College on Tuesday, December 11th, while the Rams travel to Curry College on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Release courtesy of AMC Sports Information.