Women's Basketball Suffers Heartbreaking Loss in MASCAC Finals

Bridgewater, Mass. – The third seed Framingham State University women's basketball team received 17 points apiece from senior guard Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) and freshman forward Sarah Palace (Auburn, Mass.) as the Rams were defeated 73-66 by top seed Bridgewater State University this afternoon in the finals of the 2014 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Bears (16-11) received 27 points from tournament MVP Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, Mass.) as they captured their fourth straight MASCAC Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament by virtue of the conference's automatic bid.The 2014 NCAA Division III Tournament pairings will be announced Monday afternoon on NCAA.com with the tournament selection show getting underway at 2:30 PM.

Williamson, who earned tournament MVP honors for the second straight season, connected on 8 of 16 field goal attempts including 5-for-6 from three-point range to go along with four rebounds and three steals.  Freshman Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) posted a double-double with 18 points and ten rebounds to go along with two assists, two blocked shots and three steals.  Senior guard Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with six points, ten boards, a game-high seven assists, two blocks and three steals, while senior guard Colleen Hanscom (Melrose, Mass.) added nine points and senior center Tatyana Belizaire (Cambridge, Mass.) came off the bench to score eight points on 3 of 4 shooting.

Hoffman and Palace  paced the visiting Rams with 17 points apiece.  Hoffman added five rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Freshman guard Carlee Putnam (Niantic, Ct.) came off the bench to score 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting from behind the arc, while freshman center Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and game-high totals of 16 rebounds and four blocked shots.

With the score tied at 22-22 with five minutes remaining in the first half, a Williamson trifecta jump-started an 11-1 BSU run to close out the stanza as the Bears took a 33-23 lead into the intermission.  Williamson scored 15 of her 27 points in the opening twenty minutes.

Framingham came roaring back to open the second half as the Rams scored the first nine points of the stanza to close the gap to one (33-32).  Later in the period, the visitors would take a 41-40 lead on a Putnam three-pointer.

The Bears answered with a 10-0 run to jump back on top, 50-41, with 11:20 remaining.  Bridgewater seemed in control the rest of the way, but an 8-0 run in the final three minutes, capped off by a Rackliffe three-point play, pulled the Rams to within three 69-66 with just 46 seconds remaining.  Back-to-back missed shots on the Bears' ensuing possession would have given the Rams a chance to tie the game, but the Rams could not grab either rebound.  Homich came up with an offensive board on the second miss and Williamson would seal the game with a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left.

Bridgewater shot 42% (25-60) for the game including 9-for-21 (43%) from three-point range.  The Bears were also 14-for-20 (70%) at the free throw line.

Framingham connected on 40% (25-63) of its' field goal attempts with a 7-for-19 (37%) from behind the arc. 

With the loss, Framingham is now 17-11 on the season and will await word on a possible ECAC Division III New England Tournament selection which will be announced Monday evening.

Release courtesy of BSU Sports Information.