FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Framingham State University women's basketball team captured the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season title outright with an 85-63 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Wednesday evening at at the FSU Athletic & Recreation Center.
The Rams improve to 19-5 on the season and 11-0 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 10-14 overall and 6-5 in conference play. Framingham has won 12 of the last 13 meetings of the two teams, while Bridgewater still leads the all-time series despite the setback, 60-21.
Freshman forward Flannery O'Connor (Amesbury, Mass.) posted a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Rams. O'Connor connected on 8 of 12 field goals and notched a pair of blocked shots.
Senior guard Mary Kate O'Day (Berlin, Mass.) added 13 points, nine boards (three offensive) and five assists for the hosts, while senior guard Emily Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored 13 points and freshman forward Katty Haidul (Wakefield, Mass.) tallied 11 points and eight rebounds (four offensive) in 15 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 15 points, four rebounds and two steals, while junior forward Leah Simmons (Abington, Mass.) chipped in nine points, five rebounds and a block in 16 minutes off the bench. Dziadyk, who went 3-for-11 from behidn the arc, tied the school record for three-pointers made in a season (set by Rachel Kusz in 2014-2015) with her 65th trifecta.
Sophomore guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) contributed 15 points, three rebounds and two assists for the Bears.
Framingham led 26-13 after the first quarter as the Rams closed out the period with a 14-2 run. Five different players scored for the hosts during the spurt. Bridgewater got as close as eight points (30-22) in a closely-contested second quarter. The Rams would take a 39-28 lead into the break.
O'Connor scored 17 first-half points to lead all players, while Hannah Dziadyk paced the Bears with nine. Framingham shot 52% (17-33) over the first 20 minutes, but just 2-for-8 (25%) from behind the arc. Bridgewater connected on 5 of 15 (33%) three-point field goal attempts in the first half, but went just 4-for-27 (15%) on two-point tries.
Framingham used a late 11-0 third-quarter run, highlighted by a pair of three-points plays by O'Day and Haidul, to open up a 64-44 lead and take control of the game. The Rams got up by as many as 30 points (82-52) in the final period and cruised to the 85-63 victory.
The Rams shot 50% (36-72) for the game and held a 58-30 advantage in points in the paint. Framingham also held the Bears to just 28% (22-80) shooting.
Both teams wrap up regular season play on Saturday afternoon. The Bears entertain MASCAC rival Worcester State University at one, while the Rams travel to Fitchburg State University for a noontime conference tilt with the Falcons.