Women's Basketball Advances in ECAC Tournament with 82-69 Win over Wheaton
Norton, Mass. – Senior guard Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) tallied a game-high 20 points to lead the sixth seed Framingham State University women's basketball team to an 82-69 victory over third seed Wheaton College in one quarterfinal of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Women's Basketball Tournament this evening.
With the win, Framingham State improves to 18-11 on the season and ties the 1986-87 and the 2000-02 for the school record for victories in the season. The Rams will have a chance to surpass that mark when they take on second-seeded Endicott College (21-7) in the semifinal round of the tournament on Saturday, March 8 at a time and place to be determined later.
The Rams also picked up their first-ever victory in the all-time series against the Lyons, who end their season 20-8, which dates back to the 1975-96 season. Wheaton holds a 7-1 edge in the matchup and won the last contest between the two squads prior to tonight by a score of 66-56 on November 20, 1998.
Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) led all scorers with her 20 points including a red-hot hand from downtown which included five made three-pointers. The Rams connected on a school record 12 three pointers in the game. Hoffman also chipped at the other end with a game-high five steals to go along with three assists, two rebounds and a block. Freshman center Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) notched a double-double with 15 points, ten rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two swipes. Classmate Sarah Palace (Auburn, Mass.) tallied 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and junior guard Margo McCarthy (Southampton, Mass.) contributed eight points, a team-high seven assists and four rebounds. Junior guards Katelyn Iafolla (Franklin, Mass.) and Johanna Annunziata (Auburn, Mass.) chipped in with nine points apiece as each hit a trio of trifectas.
Wheaton College junior forward Abbie Brickley (Sandy, Utah) became the 12th student-athlete in program history to join the 1,000-point club as she buried a layup from the right block just 12-seconds into the contest. Brickley, who needed just one point to reach 1,000 for her career, received a bounce pass from junior guard Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H.) on the right block and buried a shot off the top right corner of the window to achieve the milestone.
Brickley finished with a team-high 19 points on 8-for-17 shooting, seven boards, two assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore forward Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y.) posted her team-leading 15th double-double of the season on 17 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and one block. Junior guard Kirsten Ferrari (Lynn, Mass.) had eight points, a career-high eight helpers, four rebounds and two steals. Pierce ended the night with two points, six assists and a steal, while sophomore guard Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H.) registered six points and nine boards.
After Brickley scored her 1,000th point, the Rams produced a 20-9 run capped by a jumper from sophomore forward Kerry Coyne (North Attleboro, Mass.). The Lyons responded with seven unanswered points as Arnone swished a three-pointer at 14:09 and a jump shot at the 13:40 mark. Ferrari closed out the spurt with a fast break layup with 12:32 remaining in the half.
Both teams exchanged baskets over the next 5:54 before Wheaton took its second lead of the game on a trey from Ferrari for a 28-27 advantage. Iafolla countered with a three-pointer of her own at the 6:12 mark, but the Lyons answered with an 11-5 run to end the half and take a 39-35 lead into break.
Framingham State got off to a fast start in the second stanza as Palace nailed a jumper, while Hoffman canned back-to-back three-pointers to push the Rams ahead 43-30 at the 17:39 mark. Wheaton brought the contest within a two-possession game with 7:29 left to play, however, Framingham State held off any potential rally leading by as many as 16 points with 2:28 remaining.
Portions of release courtesy of Wheaton Sports Information.