The Framingham State Rams and Westfield State Owls are moving on to the MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament title game after winning their exciting semifinal contests on Thursday night.

#2 Framingham State 60, #6 MCLA 59 Box Score

Framingham, Mass.- Framingham State junior Raegan Mulherin (Baldwinville, Mass.) drained a three-pointer in the final seconds to take a 60-59 lead over MCLA and propel the Rams into the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championship Game on Saturday afternoon.

The Rams (21-4) will travel to top-seeded Westfield State who defeated Bridgewater State in double-overtime this evening in the other MASCAC semi-final. The Championship game will take place on Saturday, February 23^rd at 1:00 p.m. in a re-match of the 2016 MASCAC Tournament Final.

The Rams and MCLA played a seesaw contest that saw 10 ties and 9 lead changes and neither team led by more than six points all game. After a Monta Connolly (Lynn, Mass.) layup with just over two and a half minutes to play in the contest capped a 13-2 run by the Rams to retake the lead 57-52 the Trailblazers came surging back once again. The visitors rattled off a 7-0 run capped by a huge three pointer by Courtney Pingelski (Mechanicville, NY) to give them back the lead at 59-57 with 34 seconds to go.

On the next Rams possession MCLA blocked a three-point attempt but Framingham got the board and was fouled on the second chance attempt. The Rams missed both of their free throws and the Trailblazers grabbed the rebound. Coming out of a timeout the Rams forced a held ball call and got the turnover, called a timeout and set up Mulherin's game-winner.

The Rams received big performances from their senior class; Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) led all scorers with 17 points and a game-high 11 boards in her double-double performance. Sarah Palace (Auburn, Mass.) scored 12 points going 2-of-4 from beyond the arc while Connolly added seven points. Mulherin contributed 10 points while Tiphani Harris (Revere, Mass.) added eight boards off the bench.

Courtney McLaughlin (Pittsfield, Mass.) led all Traiblazers with 16 points going 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. Kayla Hotaling (Ravena, NY) added 11 points with a team-high eight boards.

The Rams shot 34% from the floor and an uncharacteristic 15% from long-range. MCLA shot 35% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc. The Rams took advantage of MCLA's 20 turnovers with 23 points off turnovers to MCLA's 11.

The Trailblazers see their season close at 10-16 after nearly pulling off two straight upsets in the tournament.

#1 Westfield State 97, #4 Bridgewater State 95 2 OT Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Jill Valley's (Mahar/Orange, Mass, Westfield State Owls outlasted Jennie Lindland's (Martha's Vineyard/Edgartown, Mass.) Bridgewater State Bears, as the Owls posted a 97-95, double overtime victory in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinals at the Woodward Center on Thursday evening.

Valley finished with 39 points for the Owls, while Lindland scored a BSU-record 38 points and grabbed a game and career-high 17 rebounds.

With the win, top-seeded Westfield State (18-8) will host #2 seed Framingham State (a 60-59 winner over #6 MCLA) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the Woodward Center in the MASCAC Championship game, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament at stakes.

The two schools slugged it out for 50 minutes.  Westfield State had a 23-16 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Bridgewater rallied to take a 39-28 lead on a jumper by Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford) with 4:16 left in the first half.   Westfield countered with a 14-0 run over the next 3:31, capped by a Valley three pointer that gave Westfield a 42-39 lead, and the Owls extended the run to 19-3 at the end of the half as Lucy Barrett (Mt. Greylock/Williamstown, Mass.) drained a three-pointer with four seconds left in the half to give Westfield a 47-42 lead at the break.

Westfield led by as many as nine in the third quarter, but Bridgewater tied the game at 65-all early in the fourth quarter on a Lindland drive.

Westfield tied the game at 77-all on a Kierra McCarthy (Ludlow, Mass.) drive with 43.7 seconds left in regulation.  Bridgewater's Chelsea Saucier had a layup attempt at the buzzer blocked by Valley to force the first extra session.

The Owls grabbed a quick five-point lead in the overtime, on back-to-back steals and layups by Valley and Barrett to lead 84-79.  Bridgewater dramatically forced the second overtime with Jennifer Whyte (Braintree, Mass.) hitting a step-back three-pointer from the right corner with 12 seconds left in the first overtime.

Westfield trailed 93-91 after a pair of free throw from Kayla Carter (St. Marty's/Hamilton, Mass.) with 3:27 left in the second OT. Valley tied the game at 93-all with a drive after a Rebecca Sapouckey (Granby/Chicopee, Mass.) offensive rebound with 2:40 left, then McCarthy opportunistically scooped up a loose ball and scored on a left handed layup with 1:28 left to give the Owls a 95-93 lead.   Westfield went ahead 97-93 on a Valley crossover step-back jumper with 49.8 seconds left.

Bridgewater answered with a DaSilva drive that cut the lead to 97-95 with 40 seconds left in the second OT. Westfield was unable to score as the Bears played the possession out, and the Owls survived as Saucier front-rimmed a potential game-winning three pointer and Lindland rimmed out a put back attempt as the buzzer went off.

Valley made 14 of 31 shots from the floor, 5-14 from three point range, and 6-8 from the line.  She added five rebounds and five steals.  McCarthy finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for the Owls, with Kirsy Segarra (Holyoke, Mass.) adding 11 and Barrett 10.  Junior center Sapouckey came up huge in the fourth quarter and overtime, grabbing nine of her 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass in the final 20 minutes.  Valley scored 11 points in the overtime sessions, and McCarthy had 11 points and six rebounds between the fourth quarter and the OTs.

Lindland finished 15-25 from the floor and 8-11 at the foul line.  Whyte finished with 14 points for the Bears, Rhianna Page (Brookline, Mass.) added 13 points and six rebounds before fouling out, and Saucier netted 10 points and handed out six assists.   Bridgewater completes its season at 12-15.