Framingham State Too Much for Blue Basketball

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The Wellesley College basketball team fell 59-52 at the hands of local rival Framingham State University to open the 2013 portion of their schedule on the road on Wednesday. The Rams won their sixth straight, remaining unbeaten at home, as junior guard Kirsten Hoffman tallied a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.

With the loss, the Blue drop to 3-5 on the season as the Rams improved to 7-3.

The Rams got off to a fast start, with a Madeleine Park three putting the exclamation point on a 11-2 opening run that spanned the first six minutes of play. Wellesley battled back, scoring 10 unanswered points, including six from Morgyne Weaver, and the Blue led 12-11 with 11:16 on the clock.  

The first half stayed close, with two more lead changes, and three ties, before Framingham State closed out the stanza with a pair of free throws from Kia Minor, giving the Rams a 28-25 advantage at the break. Park and Kristen Hoffman each recorded 10 first-half points for the home team, while Weaver notched eight in the period for the Blue. 

In the second half, the outside shooting from Hoffman and Park proved to be the difference and helped the Rams regain control of the game. Hoffman opened up second half scoring with a three that extended the advantage to 31-25. The game remained tight however, with Wellesley inching back and finally taking a 36-35 lead on a three from Leslie Leong. 

The Blue extended their advantage to 42-37 with just under 12 to play, opening their largest lead of the game on a jumper from Leong. Framingham State answered with hot three point shooting, as Park, Hoffman, and Margo McCarthy each connected from beyond the arc, to spark an 11-2 run. The scoring spurt put the Rams ahead 48-44 with 8:16 to play. 

Wellesley wasn't able to rebound from the Rams hot streak, as Framingham State continued to pull away, closing out the 59-52 victory. 

For the home team, Hoffman's 20-points led all scorers, while Park would go on to finish with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. The Rams shot just under 44% from three on the night, while the Blue just hit 3-of-15 from deep.

Wellesley was paced by 12 points and seven boards from Weaver, while Leong added 12 points in her first game of the 2012-13 season. Malia Maier finished the game with nine assists, nine steals and six points, while Ashleigh Sargent chipped in with nine points. 

This was the final non-conference game for both teams as they pick up conference action over the weekend. The Rams next travel to Worcester State on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., while Wellesley plays on the road this Saturday at Smith College at 2:00 p.m.