Rams rally in second half to remain unbeaten

NEWPORT, R.I. (Thursday, November 30, 2023) -- With the score deadlocked 47-47 after three quarters, Framingham State University women's basketball doubled up Salve Regina University, 22-11, in the fourth quarter to finish with a 69-58 victory in non-league action at the Rodgers Recreation Center on Thursday evening. The Rams remain undefeated (6-0) while the Seahawks fall to 3-5 on the season. Gwendolyn Carpenter scored eight points in the final period, all free throws (8-of-10), while Flannery O'Connor scored nine points on 3-of-3 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line. Salve Regina made only four of 26 field goal attempts (15.4%) in the last 10 minutes.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Framingham State 69, Salve Regina 58
Records: Salve Regina (3-5), Framingham State (6-0)
All-Time Series: Salve Regina had won five of seven meetings with Framingham State in women's basketball, including 18 years ago on November 22, 2005, in Framingham, Massachusetts, 57-36. Salve Regina won the first two meetings (1982 and 1983) by a combined score of 133-55. Seahawks now lead the all-time series, 5-3.

SUMMARY

• 1Q - Ashley Rourke led the way with nine first-quarter points on 3-of-4 from long range. Salve Regina scored one-third of its points off turnovers. Morgan Shuey had three assists and one steal while Marissa Forino had a swipe as well. Sofia Neary made 3-of-4 field goals, all twos, for six points. Deanna Linscott grabbed three boards. Kelsey Yelle led the Rams with six points on 3-of-4 shooting. | Salve Regina 21, Framingham State 16
• 2Q - Both teams made five field goals in the second quarter with the hosts outscoring the visitors, 12 to 10. Morgan Shuey and Amanda Folan had two baskets apiece while Briana Neary made one and a pair of free throws for the two-point difference. | Salve Regina 33, Framingham State 26
• 3Q - Amanda Folan scored on a driving layup on the first possession of the period to match Salve Regina's largest lead (35-26). Chloe Rayko led all players with nine points on 3-of-4 from the floor including a 3-pointer and 2-of-2 from the line. Sofia Neary scored eight of Salve Regina's 14 points while making 4-of-5. After Ashley Rourke's layup at 5:41 made the score 41-32, the Rams finished the final five-plus minutes with a 15-6 run to tie the score. | Salve Regina 47, Framingham State 47
• 4Q - Flannery O'Connor opened the scoring with a pair of free throws and Morgan Shuey tied the score at 49-all with a pull-up jumper. O'Connor's layup at 5:16 gave the Rams a five-point lead (56-51) and the Seahawks never got closer. Salve Regina made only four of 26 field goal attempts (15.4%) in the last 10 minutes, 0-for-9 from behind the arc. Kelsey Yelle and Gwendolyn Carpenter each had a blocked shot. | Framingham State 69, Salve Regina 58

NOTEWORTHY

• Framingham outscored Salve Regina, 43-25, in the second half.
• Kelsey Yelle led all players with 20 points.
• Sofia Neary topped Salve Regina scorers with a 16-point performance. She also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
• The visitors had the slight edge on the boards, 42-41.
• Morgan Shuey and Gwendolyn Carpenter both had seven assists for their respective teams.
• Yelle finished with three blocked shots.
• Double-double for Flannery O'Connor (13 pts/11 rbs).
• Tonight's matchup featured a house divided as former Seahawks Brian '97 and Kerry Ceurvels Martin '96 rooted for daughters on each team - Salve Regina senior Olivia Martin and Framingham State sophomore Abigail Martin (also pictured, Jack Martin).

QUOTING COACH HUGHES ON WADK and LIVE STREAM

"The difference in the score in the third (quarter), I can lead that back to three or four turnovers that led to layups. And they were poor passes, it wasn't even great defense. We've been talking about turnovers. When you're playing a team like this, it's bad enough when you make a turnover, but when you turn it over and it leads to an easy layup, and we don't get the opportunity to play defense, that hurt us. That got us on our heels and we started to play tight after that, we started over-thinking things. And that's what you get when you have a team that's 3-and-5 versus a team that's 6-and-0. They (Framingham) have been winning, they have confidence because of that, we have been struggling a little bit. When things started to go a little bit sideways, we were playing like a 3-and-5 team rather than the team you saw in the first half when things were going right for us." -- Seahawk head coach Cori Hughes with Bobb Angel and Scott Barrett of WADK during the post-game interview

ON THE HORIZON
Salve Regina hosts Connecticut College on Saturday, December 2 (1 p.m.) in the final of a three-game home stand.