Framingham State 63, Worcester State 59
Worcester, MA --- Framingham State senior Allison Hart (Somerset, MA) led three double-digit scorers with a season-high 23 points as the Rams edged out Worcester State, 63-59, in MASCAC action this afternoon.
Junior Toya Chester (Leominster, MA) also paced FSC (7-8, 1-2 MASCAC) with 17 points and nine boards while sophomore Jill Johnson (Mansfield, MA) corralled a career-best 14 rebounds with six points and six steals. Nichole McConaghy (Medford, MA) went 7-for-10 from the free throw line to chip in with 11 points.
The Lancers (5-10, 1-2 MASCAC) were led by sophomore Kathleen Foley (Hudson, NH) who scored a team-high 15 points with four three pointers in the second half while classmate Alexis George (Worcester, MA) notched 14 points with five rebounds and three steals. Freshman Molly Hein (Hudson, NH) added six points with seven boards in just 19 minutes of action.
The triumph for the Rams ended an 11-game losing streak dating back to the 2002-03 season. FSC swept the Blue and Gold twice during the regular season, but the Lancers got revenge in the MASCAC Tournament that year defeating Framingham State on February 25, 2003 to start the second longest win streak against an active opponent.
Up 17-14 with seven minutes left to play in the opening half, Framingham State went on a 9-0 run to lead 26-14 with 1:38 left to play in the stanza. Worcester State, however, would go on a 6-2 spurt to close out the first half with the visitors ahead 28-20.
Over the first six minutes of the second period, the Rams went up by as many as nine, but the Lancers made it a 35-31 lead with 14:36 remaining. Over the next 4 ½ minutes of play FSC then went on an 11-2 run to go up 44-33 with 10:24 left in regulation.
The Lancers would continue to chip away at the lead bringing the score 46-41 on a Foley trey with 4:49 on the clock, but that was as close as they would get until the Rams brought the score back up to 53-41, 90 seconds later.
Worcester State would make one final attempt at the lead with a 10-2 push to trail 55-51, the Rams would hold on for the win as they made eight of their last 10 free throws to earn the win. WSC wouldn't make it easy as they eight tallied points over the last 1 ½ minutes of play.
Framingham State was 21-for-25 from the charity stripe in the second half while WSC was 9-for-17 in the entire contest. Worcester State out-rebounded the visitors 45-38 which included a 16-13 advantage off the offensive glass while the Rams converted 21 Lancer turnovers into 17 points.
Both teams will hit the hardwood again next week with a pair of 5 PM MASCAC games when Worcester State will face local rival Fitchburg State and Framingham will host Salem State.