By Kyra Tolley Asst. Sports Editor Women’s basketball hosted the Westfield State University Owls in an action-packed conference game Feb. 1 that ended in an 86-80 win for the Rams. This result gives Framingham a 5-2 conference record and an overall record of 12-7. To start the first quarter, the Owls started strong, scoring the first points of the game with a three-point shot. When it came time for Framingham to inbound the ball, Westfield played aggressively and applied a full-court press they maintained for the entirety of the game. Westfield’s press forced 35 turnovers from the Rams. The Owls were held to 23 points off the turnovers, while Framingham scored 23 points off Westfield’s 18 turnovers. Senior Chloe Rayko scored the first basket for the Rams from behind the three-point line, tying the game 3-3. The Owls had two successful free throws, but junior Abigail Martin had an impressive three possessions to put the Rams in the lead. Captain Katie Haselton recovered a defensive rebound and triggered a series of swift passes down the court that proved to be unblockable as the ball made its way to Martin, who put it in for 2 points. Martin then stole the ball and assisted freshman Jackie Schels’ layup before the Owls sank a three-point shot, but Martin tallied another assist to freshman Faith Greene for 2 more points. The following steal by Schels and her resulting layup brought the score to 11-8 in favor of the Rams. The Owls then missed a layup on the other end, which Schels took advantage of and scored a three-point shot to extend the Rams’ lead to 14-8. Martin continued to show her defensive skill with another steal that created a layup opportunity, which she converted while being fouled. She then made the following free throw. The Rams took a 10-point lead after a foul committed on sophomore Bryanna Grant allowed her to score a free throw. Westfield was eager to score after four unsuccessful possessions, but Grant easily blocked their attempt at a layup. The Owls were able to get on the board again with two free throws and a three-point shot. Westfield couldn’t make up the deficit yet because Greene kept pushing to get rebounds and make layups, but the Owls scored the last 4 points of the quarter with two free throws and one layup. The first quarter ended with the Rams just barely in the lead at 20-17. The start of the second quarter saw the Rams and the Owls alternating layups until Framingham had three successful attempts from beyond the arc. Schels made a three-pointer before Westfield answered with 2 points, but junior Kiara Cerruti didn’t let the momentum shift as she sank another three-point shot. Schels followed with yet another three-pointer of her own. With Framingham 10 points ahead, Westfield had ground to make up. Two layups and two free throws started that process for the Owls, but Cerruti closed out the second quarter with the final 2 points. The second quarter ended 37-30 in favor of the Rams. Westfield capitalized on their first shot of the third quarter to gain 2 points and close the deficit down to 5 points, but Greene wouldn’t let that last long. Just 30 seconds later, Greene grabbed a defensive rebound that put her team on the attack. After some quick ball movement, Greene got the ball back from Schels and pulled up for a jump shot that sank to bring the score to 39-32. A few moments later, Schels was fouled and converted 2 points off her free throws. On the next possession, Greene tracked down the ball on defense and stole the ball from the Owls. Rayko received the ball and shot from far out and missed, but Greene, who has a knack for grabbing rebounds, won the ball back. She went up for a layup, was fouled, and got set up at the line for a free throw. After she made the shot, the Rams were back to a 10-point lead. In the next minute, Westfield cut that lead in half with a three-pointer and a two-point jump shot. Framingham responded with a layup by Greene. When the Owls missed a three-point shot in their following possession, Greene rebounded and got the ball to Haselton, who scored a layup. After a missed three-point attempt from Cerruti, Martin grabbed the rebound and passed it to Haselton, who went up for a layup. The ball didn’t fall in, but Haselton caught her own rebound and passed it to Cerruti, who finally got the 2 points they were working toward to give the Rams an 11-point lead - the largest lead of the game. More three-pointers and even more layups raised the score for both teams, but Westfield was accumulating points fast enough to whittle away at the lead Framingham had established. It was now a one-possession game with a score of 52-50. Despite this pressure, Cerruti didn’t let down and scored 7 points in less than a minute while her team held down the defense, halting the Owls’ attempts to score. The third quarter concluded with 4 more points for Westfield and 1 more point for Framingham, which brought the score to 60-54. The Owls came out quickly in the fourth quarter, hoping to break down the Rams’ defense with their full-court press. The first basket for Westfield came from a turnover by Framingham, something the Rams struggled with all game. Another layup from the Owls put them dangerously close to tying up the game. The Rams stood with only a 2-point margin of error in the final 9 minutes. Greene made a layup at an important moment - just before Westfield sank a three-pointer to make the score 62-61, still in favor of Framingham. Haselton contributed the next 4 points for the Rams - a layup and two free throws. With 3:51 left, the Owls scored a three-pointer to tie the game. In the final moments, Framingham fought to hang on. In one of the most crucial plays of the game, Greene shot from behind the arc and scored 3 points for the Rams, which was just enough to temporarily keep the Owls at bay. Greene said this moment took composure. “In a noisy gym, you have to control an uncontrollable environment. “When I shot that ball, I knew that I had been struggling to make threes and the percentage of me making it on paper was low, but I had confidence and let the ball go.” Westfield then scored a layup, but Cerruti wouldn’t let them tie it up again. She scored a layup of her own to bring the score to 71-68. Martin showed up on defense and made an important block to give possession back to the Rams. A series of missed shots and multiple rebounds by Framingham ended with a three-pointer from Haselton. The remaining moments of the game became a battle of the free throws. The Rams were consistent while the Owls seemed to struggle. The deficit got larger and larger until Framingham was up by 10 points again. The Owls decided to strategically foul in an attempt to stop the clock and get more scoring opportunities, but the Rams’ free throws were dependable. The final score of the game was 86-80. Schels, Greene, and Haselton all accomplished a double-double during this game, with each of them getting over 10 rebounds and 10 points. Schels, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds, led the team in three-pointers, while Haselton had 14 points and 12 rebounds and led the team in assists. Greene led the team in both points and rebounds with 22 points and 16 rebounds. She was particularly masterful on defense as 12 of her rebounds came on the defensive end. These three players alone outrebounded the entire Owls’ team 39 to 33. Due to the Rams’ rebounding prowess, they contributed 11 more second-chance points than Westfield. Greene said she doesn’t have a particular strategy for rebounding. “It’s just grit. I want the rebound so I will go and fight to get that rebound.” Greene was awarded MASCAC Rookie of the Week for the sixth time this season after her performances against Fitchburg State and Westfield State. In addition to this honor, she was named MASCAC Player of the Week. The New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) also named Greene as their Rookie of the Week while D3hoops.com included her in their Team of the Week. Schels said her mentality during close games is to fight for every ball, remain composed in the intense moments, and stick together as a team. “You definitely have to stay patient - not freak out.” Haselton said playing Westfield always creates a different atmosphere and they needed to make smart passes given how much the Owls tend to speed up the play. Head Coach Walter Paschal emphasized how good Westfield’s press was and how difficult it was to work around. Despite this, Paschal said his team made their free throws and got important rebounds during the home stretch of the game. “We’re just happy to get out of here with a win.” On Feb. 5, the Rams lost against Bridgewater State University 72-53 in a conference game on the Bears’ court. Their overall record is now 12-8 and their conference record is 4-3. The Rams’ next matchup is a conference game at home against Salem State University Feb. 8.