Rams Slam Owls in Conference Opener, 91-66

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Framingham State sophomore center Faith Greene scored a career-high 31 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and handed out four assists  to lead the Rams to a 91-66 win over Westfield State in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference opener at the Framingham State Athletic and Recreation Center on Wednesday night.

Westfield State dips to 8-4 overall and 0-1 in the MASCAC.   Framingham State is now 5-7 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

Westfield was led by 17 points from Framingham native Caroline Galvani.  Galvani finished 5-12 from behind the three-point arc.    Tavi Williams added nine points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Sophia Rockwood also scored nine for the Owls.

Greene was 12-20 from the floor and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, and the Rams dominated the boards with a 56-36 advantage. Kiara Ceruti added 21 points and Ava McKeon 12 among four players in double-figure scoring fofr Framingham.  Kelsey Yelle grabbed  10 rebounds.

Framingham led 40-35 at the half.

The Rams did a better job handling the Westfield press in the second half, and built the lead to as many as 15 with 2:45 to play in in the third quarter on a Zaria Anderson three-pointer, but Westfield's Morgan Berthiaume's jumper at the buzzer trimmed the lead back to 10, 66-56 with 10 minutes left to play.

The Rams opened the lead back up in the early stages of the fourth quarter, extending the lead out to 79-61 lead on a Yelle layup off an assist from Greene with 5:05 left to play, forcing an Owls timeout.

Framingham finished 32-63 from the floor (50.8 percent) to Westfield's 23-81 (28.4 percent).  Westfield forced 31 turnovers from the Rams, but Westfield committed 22 of their own.

Westfield will have its conference home opener on Saturday, hosting Worcester State University at noon as part of a doubleheader, with the Owls' men's team also facing Worcester at 2:00 p.m.