WESTFIELD, Mass. –Flannery O'Connor scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds 74-52 to lead the Framingham State women's basketball team to a 74-52 win over Westfield State in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams at the Athletics and Recreation Center in Framingham on Wednesday night.
Westfield drops to 7-7, 0-1 in the MASCAC, while Framingham improves to 12-1, and begins 1-0 in the league.
Framingham entered the game picked second in the league's preseason poll, while the Owls were picked third.
The Owls endured an ice-cold shooting night from the floor, connecting on just 24 percent (18 of 76) from the floor and 7 of 37 (18.9 percent from long range). The poor shooting hampered the Owls ability to get into their press, and while Westfield forced 30 turnovers from the Rams, the Owls turned those into just 23 points.
O'Connor finished 10-12 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the foul line for the Rams. Kelsey Yelle added 15 points, doing most of her damage inside as well, and Katherine Haselton added nine points and nine rebounds. Gwen Carpenter scored seven points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out seven assists for the Rams.
Olivia Hadla was the lone Owl to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 14 points. Ashley Ames added nine points, and Jordan Grant finished with seven points and seven rebounds and was limited to just five shots from the floor.
Westfield trailed 44-29 at the half.
The Owls started the night by missing 11 straight three-point shots, before Ames finally connected on back to back triples for the Owls, and then Hadla added a layup, trimming what had been a 13-point Rams lead into just five, at 21-16, with nine minutes left in the second quarter.
O'Connor led the Owls with 17 points and six rebounds while shooting 7-8 in the half. Yelle added 11 as the Rams took advantage of a size advantage inside.
Westfield shot just 23 percent (9 for 39) in the first half, while the Rams shot it at a 56 percent (18-32) clip.
Framingham edged away in the third period, leading 53-31 after a Jenna Tavanese three-pointer with 5:38 left in the game
Framingham extended the lead to 65-40 after three periods, their largest margin to that point in the game, after back to back feeds into O'Connor for layups to close the third quarter.
Owls didn't score until the 4:40 mark in the fourth quarter when Hannah Sheldon finally connected on a layup.
Framingham out rebounded the Owls 54-33. Westfield forced 27 turnovers but were only able to convert them into 21 points with the rough shooting night.
Westfield entered the game averaging 76 points per game as a team. The loss broke a modest three-game winning streak for the Owls.
Framingham got back on the winning track after winning 11 straight to open the season before being derailed by Trinity (Tex.) in their last outing.
Westfield State will be back in action at home on Saturday, hosting MCLA in a noon start. Framingham will travel to Bridgewater State on Saturday for a noon tip off as well.