MCLA rolls into MASCAC Semifinals with convincing win over Framingham 63-47

North Adams, MA- The MCLA women's basketball team rode the inside presence of sophomore forward Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, NY), who tallied 22 points, 15 boards, and 6 blocks in a convincing 63-47 MASCAC Quarterfinal victory over visiting Framingham State.  With the win, MCLA improves to 16-9, and will move on to face top seeded Bridgewater in the semifinals on Friday.   Framingham State finishes the season with a record of 10-13.

Aside from Wehner, MCLA also recieved a season high 13 points off the bench from sophomore guard Alie Dobrovolc (Little Falls, NY), while freshman guard Lucy Tremblay (East Greenbush, NY) added 11.  Senior Laura Silverman (Ballston Lake, NY) had a solid effort contributing nine rebounds, five on the offensive end. 

The Rams were paced by freshman Kia Minor's (Oak Bluffs, MA) 12 points, while senior Toya Chester finished with 10.

Both teams came out sluggish in the opening minutes.  With MCLA holding a one point advantage after 4 minutes of play, the hosts would use a 14-5 run to take a ten point edge at 17-7 with 5:49 to play.  Wehner tallied six points in the spurt.  After the Rams trimmed the advantage to six (20-14) with 1:13 left, the Trailblazers would score the final five points of the half to take a 25-14 lead into the locker room.

Out of the locker room, MCLA quickly extended the lead to fourteen at 31-17 with 18:16 to play.  Framingham would have an answer though, as consecutive three pointers from Minor and junior forward Jill Johnson (Mansfield, MA) would trim the lead to eight. 

Following a MCLA timeout, the Trailblazers would go on a 6-0 run of their own, pushing the lead back to 14.  Once again the Rams would mount a rally going on a 7-0 spurt, making the score 37-30 with 14:28 on the clock.  This is as close as the Rams would get the remainder of the night.

MCLA would go on a 10-3 run to push the lead back to fourteen with under ten minutes to play.  The lead would grow to as many as sixteen on separate occasions as Framingham could not get back into the game.

Both teams struggled throughout to put the ball in the basket as both teams defended well.  Framingham shot just 30% on the night, while MCLA could only muster 35% from the floor.

MCLA hurt the Rams off the glass, outrebounding the visitors 53-40, including 19 on the offensive end.   

MCLA, which entered the postseason as the fourth seed, will now play top seeded Bridgewater Friday night in Bridgewater.