Rams Put End to Vikings' Season in Semifinals

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications 

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.— Flannery O'Connor (Amesbury,  Mass.) and Kelsey Yelle (South Easton, Mass.) combined for 43 points to give #1 Framingham State the  81-55 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Semifinals victory over #4 Salem State on Thursday night at Logan Gymnasium. The loss ended the Vikings' season with a 13-14 record while the win for Framingham sends them to the MASCAC Championship where they will face #2 Bridgewater State this Saturday, February 24.

For the Vikings, Abuk Teng (Manchester, N.H.) led the way with 20 points while Nicolette D'Itria (Revere, Mass.) netted 12 points to go along with six rebounds in the effort.

On the other side, O'Connor had game-highs in points (24) and rebounds (19) while Gwendolyn Carpenter (Ashley Falls, Mass.) had a game-high 10 assists in the victory.  

The Vikings were held scoreless till the 7:25 mark of the first quarter when D'Itria hit a three pointer to cut the Rams lead in half (6-3). Later in the quarter Framingham would find their first double-digit lead after back-to-back triples put them ahead 20-9 with just over three minutes remaining in the opening stanza. The Vikings would string together a couple unanswered baskets to cut into the Ram's lead and find themselves down nine (22-13) to enter the second quarter.

Two minutes into the second quarter Teng went on a 5-0 run to bring her squad within nine before the Rams would quickly answer with a layup on the other end to reclaim an 11-point edge (29-18). The Vikings would once again find themselves within nine after a triple from Nieves at the 4:37 mark, but an 8-2 run from the Rams would send the game into the break with Framingham ahead, 41-26.

At halftime, O'Connor led the Rams with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Carpenter had six assists. Teng led the Vikings with nine points, going 4-8 from the field while Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) had three assists. Salem State was shooting 25.6 % from the field at halftime, compared to Framingham State's 47.1%.

After a slow start to the second half, a perfect trip to the free line for Yelle would give her squad the 20-point edge with 6:08 to play in the third. The Rams would hold the Vikings to just four points over the next five and a half minutes before D'Itria closed the quarter with back-to-back jumpers, making it a 61-37 game entering the final 10 minutes of action.

The Rams would find their largest lead of the game at the seven-minute mark after O'Connor went 2-2 from the stripe to make it a 31-point game (71-41). After an 8-2 run, spearheaded by Teng, the Vikings would get as close as 23 before Framingham State went on to take the decisive 81-55 victory and solidify their spot in the MASCAC Championship game.