Women’s Basketball Defeats MASCAC Unbeaten Worcester State 47-43

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University women's basketball team handed conference leader Worcester State University their first conference loss of the season after defeating the Lancers 47-43 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Framingham's Athletic & Recreation Center.

With the win, the Rams improve to 11-7 on the year and 4-3 in the conference while the Lancers are now 10-10 overall and 6-1 in the MASCAC.

The Rams were paced by senior guard Madeleine Park (Blue Hill, ME) and junior guard Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) who scored a game-high 12 points apiece.  Park filled the stat sheet with seven boards, three assists and two steals, while Hoffman chipped in four boards, seven assists and seven steals.  Senior forward Kia Minor (Edgartown, Mass.) just missed a double double as she finished with 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds.

The Lancers were led by sophomore Alyssa Jasper (Rockland, Mass.) who had the game's only double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds including nine on the offensive glass.  Junior Meaghan Burns (W. Brookfield, Mass.) added 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, while senior center Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

With the game tied at 9-9, the Rams rattled off an 8-0 run fueled by a pair of threes from Hoffman and Park to take a 17-9 lead with 10:46 on the clock.

Worcester State answered with a run of their own to take their first lead of the game (21-20) with 2:34 left in the half. The Lancer spurt was keyed by six points from Jasper.  The Rams eventually took a 22-21 lead into the locker room on a Hoffman layup.

The Rams opened the second half with an 8-2 run to push their lead to 30-23 with just over 16 minutes left in the game.  The Rams were able to maintain a lead throughout the second half extending it to as many as eight.

The Lancers chipped away at the Rams advantage and cut the lead to two (45-43) on a three from senior Kara Rogers (Lowell, Mass.) with a minute remaining, but that was as close as they would get as they turned the ball over in the final ten seconds and the Rams added a late basket to reach the final margin.

Both teams struggled from the field in the game with the Rams shooting 38% for the game (20-53) and just 21% from behind the line, while the Lancers connected on just 27% from the field (15-55) and just 7% from long range.  The Lancers held a 46-37 rebounding edge including a 22-13 advantage on the offensive glass which they converted into 17 second chance points in the game while the Rams had none.

Both teams resume MASCAC action on Tuesday night with the Rams traveling to Bridgewater State University for a 5:30 p.m. matchup and the Lancers hosting Westfield State University at 6 p.m.