Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—Senior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) and sophomore Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) each recorded double-doubles, to lead UMass Boston women's basketball to a 61-51 win in their home opener Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 61, Framingham State University 51
(UMass Boston 3-0, Little East Conference 0-0)
(Framingham State University 2-2, MASCAC 0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Murphy and Mathieu combined for 41 points and 29 rebounds to lead the Beacons past the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Favorite in UMass Boston's home opener.
Murphy recorded her third-straight double-double to start the season, as she finished with a game-high 24 points and 18 rebounds, to go along with two blocks.
On the other side, Mathieu broke out of her shooting slump to start the season, as she finished 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from distance, en-route to a career-high 17 points. Mathieu tacked on a career-high 11 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double and added two assists in 32 minutes of work.
Junior
Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with six points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Point guard
Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) finished with a season-high 10 assists and freshman
Michaela Ilebode (Malden, Mass.) led the Beacons' bench with five points in 12 minutes of action.
Framingham State was led by juniors Monta Connolly (17 points and 14 rebounds) and Alycia Rackliffe (15 points and 15 rebounds), who both posted double-doubles of their own.
Despite leading from start to finish, UMass Boston struggled to pull away from the Rams all game long, thanks to a season-high 24 turnovers.
UMass Boston held Framingham State without a made basket for the opening 6:49, as they leapt out to an 8-1 lead. Murphy was dominant in the opening frame, as she scored 11 of the Beacons' 14 points, to lead UMass Boston to a 14-5 edge after one quarter.
Mathieu lit up the scoreboard to start the second quarter, as the sophomore knocked down a pair of threes and added a jump shot, to help the Beacons open up a 22-9 lead just 1:45 into the second quarter.
Framingham State wouldn't go away though, as Rackliffe poured in nine of her 15 points to end the quarter, and cut the Beacons' lead to 29-26.
The Rams cut the deficit to 34-32 with 6:13 to go in the third quarter, but the Beacons answered back with a 9-0 run. Edwards knocked down a layup to start the run and then
Shyanne Wellington (Springfield, Mass.) knocked down a jumper of her own to make it 38-32. Ilebode took over from there, as the freshman center converted an and-one and then hit two free throws to push the Beacons' lead to 43-32.
UMass Boston would continue their run to start the fourth quarter, as Murphy and Mathieu combined for eight of the Beacons' first 10 points, in a 10-0 run to push the lead out to 53-36 with 6:43 to play.
Framingham State had one last run in them, as they forced several Beacons' turnovers in the midst of a 15-2 run.
Leading by just four (55-51) with 2:26 to play, Murphy converted a big layup late in the shot clock and Chantel Jordan (Brockton, Mass.) and Burston each knocked down a pair of free throws, to account for the final 61-51 score.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the field and 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from distance on the day.
- Framingham State ended the day 21-of-75 (28.0 percent) and 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) from the 3-point line.
- The Beacons shot a season-best 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the free throw line, while Framingham State hit 8-of-12 (66.7) of their shots from the charity stripe.
- UMass Boston improved to 19-9 all-time against the Rams.
- The Beacons are 3-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season, when the Beacons opened 4-0.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will continue their three-game homestand Tuesday night, when they host Fitchburg State at 5:30 p.m. in non-conference play.
