Rams Hold Off Westfield, 80-75

WESTFIELD., Mass. –   Framingham State's Faith Greene scored 30 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked three shots to lead the Rams to a hard-fought 80-75 win over Westfield State in a key Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic conference game in front of a raucous crowd at the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon.  

Westfield State slips to 13-6 overall and 5-3 MASCAC, while Framingham moves to 10-9, 6-2 MASCAC and takes over sole possession of second place in the league.

The game was back and forth throughout with eight ties and six lead changes.

The Rams took a 52-50 lead on a putback from Greene as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.

Westfield led 53-52 on Morgan Berthiaume's three pointer to open the fourth quarter, and the Owls pushed it to 55-52 when she got a steal and layup on next possession.  Westfield could never break the string, never getting a lead of more than three points in the game.

Framingham led 63-56 on an old-fashioned three-point play, and the Rams threatened to get away from the Owls, leading 70-62 with a pair of free throws from Greene with 4:00 left, but  Westfield rallied; trimming the lead to 70-66 after steal and bucket from Sophia Rockwood with 3:19 remaining, then the Owls clipped  it to 70-69 on a Rockwood corner three after offensive rebound and kickout.

Framingham's Jacqueline Schels drilled a three pointer with 1:50 left that gave the Rams a 73-69 lead and to preserve the lead.

Westfield's Tavi Williams scored at the buzzer to trim the final margin to 80-75.

Westfield was led by a career high 20 from first-year guard Rockwood, who connected on 7 of 14 from the floor and 3-8 behind the arc.   Alexa Davis added 13 points and five rebounds, and Williams finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Rams placed four players in double figures, including Schels with 17 points and 15 rebounds, Kelsey Yelle with 12 points and 11 boards, and 10 points from Zaria Anderson.

The Rams parlayed their size advantage into a 67-35 rebounding edge, and grabbed 23 offensive rebounds to the Owls 11.  Framingham blocked eight shots.

The two teams traded salvos throughout the contest.

Framingham took a 26-17 lead after back-to-back three pointers from Zaria Anderson and Jaqueline Shels with 8:40 left in the opening half.

Westfield tied the game at 26-all with back-to-back triples from Rockwood with 6:20 left.

Framingham snared a 32-27 advantage when Anderson drilled an end-of-shot-clock three pointer with 1:30 left in the first half.

Framingham led 32-28 after a fast-paced first half, behind 11 points and eight rebounds from Greene. Rockwood led the Owls in the opening half with seven points, while Williams dished out five assists and took the Lions' share of defensive responsibilities on Greene, who was 0-4 in the second quarter after connecting on four of her first six shots from the floor.  The Rams outrebounded the Owls 35-21 in the opening 20 minutes.

Westfield tied the game at 32-all with two quick buckets to start second half on a putback from Williams and a steal and bucket from Rockwood on the ensuing inbounds play.

Westfield led 40-37 on Kayley Downey's three pointer

Rams responded with a quick 11-2 spurt, taking a 48-42 lead on Anderson's third three pointer of the day.

The two teams came into today as part of a three-team tie (with Salem State) for second place in the MASCAC standings, two games behind league leading Bridgewater State, which completed the first circuit of the league's double round robin schedule with a 7-0 mark.

Westfield will be back in action, Wednesday, Feb. 4, with a conference game at Worcester State.  Tip off is set for 5:30 p.m., as part of a conference doubleheader with the two schools' men's teams meeting at 7:30 p.m.