Carpenter Earns MASCAC Co-Player of the Year Honors, Paschal Named Coach of the Year, Three on All-MASCAC Squad

Framingham, Mass.- Framingham State senior point guard Gwendolyn Carpenter (Ashley Falls, Mass.) has been named the 2023-24 MASCAC Women's Basketball Co-Player of the Year and Rams head coach Walter Paschal has been named BSN Sports Coach of the Year as voted on by the seven coaches around the conference. 

Carpenter is joined on the All-MASCAC Teams by classmate Flannery O'Connor (Amesbury, Mass.) and junior Kelsey Yelle (South Easton, Mass.). 

Carpenter was the anchor for the MASCAC Regular Season Champion Rams who were 11-1 in league play this season. Carpenter averaged 9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds, but she made the biggest impact with her league-leading 193 assists, second-best free throw percentage at 82.6 and third-highest three-point percentage at 36.4. Her assists per game average of 7.4 currently leads Division III and twice this season, she registered a triple double which is the third-most in Division III this season. In a pivotal win at Westfield State, Carpenter finished with 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. 

O'Connor, who was the 2021-22 MASCAC Player of the Year earns a spot on the All-MASCAC team for the fourth time in her career. She averaged 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, picking up 14 double-doubles in 25 games. She ranks first in the league in free-throw percentage (83.1%), second in rebounds (286), second in field goal percentage (51.9%) and fifth in points (414).  

Yelle earns her first All-MASCAC nod after a tremendous junior season which saw her average 15.5 points and eight rebounds per game. She is first in the conference in field goal percentage (56.2%), fifth in rebounds (209) and 7th in points (404). Yelle scored in double figures in every Rams conference win this season including a 23 points performance in a win at Westfield State. 

Rams head coach Walter Paschal was voted the BSN Sports Coach of the Year as voted on by his peers. Paschal who is in his 11th season at Framingham, led the Rams to a 24-2 season to this point and 11-1 MASCAC record capturing the programs' third conference regular season and tournament championships in the past four seasons.  

The Rams will be making the program's third appearance as they will be squaring off against the #5/#6 University of Scranton in Scranton, PA in a first-round game on Friday, March 1st.