Framingham State Bests Wellesley Basketball in Season Opener, 63-30

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - Wellesley College basketball opened their season with a 63-30 loss against Framingham State on Wednesday.

Junior Flannery O'Connor (Amesbury, Mass.) led the Rams (1-0) with a double-double consisting of 25 points and 11 rebounds. Classmate Katty Haidul (Gilford, N.H.) also had a double-double for Framingham with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) paced the Blue (0-1) with eight points and four rebounds while first years Shannon Li (Los Altos, Calif.) and Madison Wieboldt (Chapel Hill, N.C.) each scored five points in their collegiate debuts for Wellesley.

FSU jumped out early, beginning the game on a 7-0 run with five points from junior Flannery O'Connor (Amesbury, Mass.) before junior Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) hit a jump shot for the Blue. Wellesley cut the lead to 11-7 by the end of the first.

The Rams dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Blue 21-2 in a quarter that saw O'Connor and Haidul doing most of the scoring for Framingham State. The Rams utilized strong defense with 11 steals in addition to 17 points for O'Connor as they lead the Blue 32-9 at the end of the half.

The Rams kept their foot on the gas early in the third with an 10-2 run highlighted by baskets from Haidul and O'Connor and two assists and a steal from sophomore Katherine Haselton (Greenfield, Mass.). The Rams outscored the Blue 20-4 in the third, with O'Connor and Haidul combining for 42 points and 21 rebounds through three quarters. 

First years Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Wieboldt each had their first collegiate baskets for Wellesley midway through the fourth as the Blue and the Rams traded buckets. The Blue outscored FSU 17-11 in the fourth quarter, as the Rams finished off a 63-30 win.

The Rams out-rebounded Wellesley 53 to 32 and shot 41.8 percent from the field to secure their first victory of the season. The Rams will look to continue their success from last season. In 2021-22 FSU finished with a 22-4 record that resulted in a NCAA Tournament appearance. 

The Blue are back in action Friday night at 8 PM against Lehman at the St. Joseph's (Conn.) Tip Off Tournament in Hartford, Conn. The Rams travel to Eastern Nazarene next Tuesday for a 5:30 PM game.