Vikings Bounced From MASCAC Tournament

Framingham, Mass. – Salem State received a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds from Kia Fernandes (Wareham, Mass.), but it was not enough as the Vikings lost 70-47 to Framingham State in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament at the Athletic Center on Tuesday evening. Salem State concludes their season with a record of 6-19.

 With the game tied 9-9 with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Rams closed the frame with a 14-2 run featuring three trifectas from sophomore Camille Desrochers (Westford, Mass.) to take a 23-11 lead after one.  The Rams shot 71% from behind the arc (5-7) in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, the Vikings closed the game to six (27-21) on a jumper by sophomore Katie Wallace (Peabody, Mass.) with just over four on the clock.

The Rams (16-9) countered with back-to-back threes from junior Emily Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.) extending the lead back to double figures, 33-21.  Salem closed the half with five straight points including a three point play by junior Courtney Paschal (Waltham, Mass.) to head to the locker room trailing 33-26.

The Rams continued to build the lead in the third quarter with threes from Velozo and Desrochers and layup from Harris pushing the advantage to 52-33 with just under four remaining.  After a Paschal three for the Vikings, a Tiphani Harris (Revere, Mass.) lay-in sent the game to the fourth with the Rams leading 56-38.

A pair of free throws from senior Kia Fernandes (Wareham, Mass.) cut the deficit to 58-43 for the Vikings with 7:30 on the clock, but Rams extended the lead back to 19 on a Harris free throw and led by as many as 23 down the stretch.

Harris paced all scorers with 23 points, connecting on 11-of-17 from the floor and added eight boards, three assists, five steals and two blocks.

Velozo finished the game with 17 points on six-of-13 from the floor including five-of-six from behind the arc. She added four boards and seven assists, while Desrochers finished the game connecting on four-of-five from behind the arc in route to her 12 points.

Salem State's Tyra Scott (Methuen, Mass.) finished with seven points and four rebounds.

The Rams shot 49.2% from the floor in the game (29-59) including shooting 62.5% from behind the arc (10-16), while Salem shot just 27% from the floor and 20% from long range.

With the victory, the Rams advance to the semifinals of the MASCAC Tournament and will travel to top seed Worcester State University on Thursday night at 7 p.m.