Westfield, Mass. --The Westfield State men's and women's basketball teams will face off against Framingham State this Wednesday, February 6th. The men's action will start at 5:30pm and the women will tip off at 7:30pm.
The Westfield State women have an overall record of 12-9 on the season, while Framingham State is 14-7. After three-straight seasons playing each other in the conference championship game, these teams find themselves in yet another battle for conference seeding. Westfield sits at 6-2 in conference play, with Framingham just a half game back at 6-3.
The Owls squeezed out a tight 80-78 win against Framingham earlier this season, with senior Kierra McCarthy (Ludlow Mass.) also scoring her 1000th career point and hitting a game-winner with 2.2 seconds left. McCarthy is having another great season for Westfield, averaging 13.6 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds. Senior Allison Hester (Sutton, Mass.) also hit a clutch 3 to tie the game late last time these squads met, and has been a huge sparkplug off the bench for the Owls the entire season.
Framingham State's Mary Kate O'Day (Berlin, Mass.) did most of the damage last time these two teams met, dropping 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds. She is averaging 18.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season.
The Westfield State men's team now sits at 11-10 on the season, and is currently tied for second in conference play at 4-4. Framingham State is just 5-16 this season, but are only a half game back of the Owls' in the conference at 4-5 despite being the current six seed.
Westfield forward Jauch Green, Jr. (Hartford, Conn.) had yet another dominant performance the last time the Owls and Rams met this season. He finished with 27 points, including his 1000th career point, in an 81-77 Owls win.
Guard Christopher Prophet (Springfield, Mass.) also had a solid game with 18 points for the Owls. The sophomore has had a strong season for Westfield State, averaging 10.9 points, four assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Framingham State is led by senior Manny Payton (Fitchburg Mass.) who has had a fantastic season averaging 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Payton hung 34 points and seven rebounds on Westfield earlier this season.
The Owl men will look to build off of their strong win against Bridgewater this weekend, while the Westfield women will look to rebound after a tight loss to the Bears on Saturday.