Women’s Basketball Defeats Fitchburg State to advance to MASCAC Semifinals
Release Andrew Mowry
Framingham, Mass. - Despite a rough start to the second half, the fourth seed Framingham State University women's basketball team was able to fight back and defeat the fifth Fitchburg State University Falcons 71-59 on Tuesday night in one quarterfinal matchup of the 2013 Massachusetts State Collegiate Atheltic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Championship.
With the win, Framingham State (14-11) punched their ticket to the MASCAC semifinals on Thursday evening, while the Falcons conclude their season at 11-14..
"It was all about heart tonight, the girls showed great leadership and didn't quit," Elizabeth Brosseau said about her team overcoming a late second-half deficit.
The Falcons led by three-points at the half thanks to shooting just under 43% from the field, as Framingham State shot 9-for-41 from the floor (22%) in the first half.
Fitchburg State would lead by as many as eight in the second half, as junior Laura Cote (Ashby, Mass.) provided a spark off the bench all night for the Falcons and would finish with a team-high 19 points including four three pointers.
"We played a good team and got tired at the end. Hoffman took over in the end and we ran out of gas," Walter Paschal Head Coach of the Falcons said after the game.
Paschal was talking about Framingham junior guard Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) who ended the night with 16 points and 10 rebounds and hit several big shots in the second-half to get Framingham back in the game and eventually give them the lead.
Senior forward Kia Minor (Edgartown, Mass.) was held scoreless in the first-half but came on strong in the second along with Hoffman to help the Rams dominate the final 10 minutes of the game. Minor was one of five Rams to score in double-digits as she finished with 10.
Senior Madeleine Park (Blue Hill, ME) led the way for the Rams with a game-high 21 points including five trifectas, while sophomores Margo McCarthy (Southampton, Mass.) and Samantha Irvine (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in 10 points apiece.
Framingham State collectively shot the ball a lot better in the second-half both from the field (42%) and three-point territory (46%).
The Rams will now travel to Bridgewater State on Thursday for a date with the top-seeded Bears as the winner will advance to the MASCAC Finals on Saturday. The Bears had their way with Framingham State in the regular season, defeating the Rams twice by an average of 28.5 points per game.
"I'm hoping the third time might be the charm," Elizabeth Brosseau said afterwards about facing Bridgewater State on Thursday.
The Rams will take on the Bears in Bridgewater at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to take on either the two-seed Worcester State or Westfield State, who was victorious over Salem State this evening in the other quarterfinal.