Women’s basketball struggles against Clark University

By Avery Slavin Staff Writer The Framingham State Rams fell to the Clark University Cougars in a non-conference matchup Dec. 9. 

This brings their overall record to 3-6. 

Sophomore Jacqueline Schels put the first points on the scoreboard in the first 2 minutes, scoring on two back-to-back free throws. 

Clark evened the score with a layup and then was able to get ahead with another layup and a free throw. 

Schels fought back with a 3-pointer, tying the score again. 

Clark was also able to score on a 3-pointer as well as a layup, making the score 10-5. 

The Rams reclaimed the lead with a layup, a jump shot, and a 3-pointer by sophomore Faith Greene, but the score was tied again when Clark also scored on a jump shot. 

Captain Abigail Martin, a senior, scored on a layup, putting the Rams ahead just before Clark also made one, the score becoming tied once more. 

A jump shot and two 3-pointers put the Rams in the lead, but the Cougars stayed right on their heels.

With the score at 22-19 in favor of Framingham, a layup and a free throw from Clark evened out the score, and another layup sent the Cougars back on top.

With 3 minutes left in the first half of the game, the teams were even at 26-26. 

Three successful free throws from the Rams, two from Schels and one from Greene, allowed Framingham to get ahead just before Clark scored on a layup. 

The first half ended with the Cougars just one point behind the Rams.

Starting off the second half, Martin assisted Schels in a layup, keeping the Rams in the lead. 

Martin assisted Captain Kelsey Yelle, a senior, in scoring a layup and also assisted senior Kiara Cerruti on a 3-pointer. 

Even with Clark scoring three layups, they weren’t fighting hard enough to catch up to the Rams until they scored on two free throws to tie the score, and then a 3-pointer to push the score to 39-36. 

Back-to-back layups from each team and a successful free throw from Clark kept the Rams fighting hard to catch up. 

Two layups and a free throw from the Cougars brought the score to 47-40, followed by another two layups and a 3-pointer, which had Framingham struggling to keep up. 

A foul from Clark allowed Schels to tally points on two successful free throws and earn the team another two points with a jump shot. 

Junior Ava Mckeon put two points on the board with free throws after Clark fouled again. 

After one more layup from the Cougars, they fouled for a third time, allowing Martin to score on two free throws. 

Clark was 10 points in the lead now, but the Rams didn’t back down. 

Schels assisted Yelle in a layup before scoring points on two successful free throws. 

Clark had four layups in a row before Framingham could gain possession of the ball. 

Greene and Schels each scored two points on free throws, bringing the score to 73-58.  

Between a couple more layups and free throws, the Cougars continued to earn points while the Rams’ score stayed the same until Yelle and sophomore Shaelagh Green scored points on layups.

While the Rams fought hard, the final score was 80-62 in favor of Clark. 

Martin said, “The biggest mental challenge we faced as a team was trying to compete with Clark’s energy and offense. They were all over the floor and it was difficult to keep up with at some points. We ended up figuring out how to play our game as the game went on. 

“As the season progresses, we plan to work on our defensive consistency and come back next semester stronger than ever! We truly put in the effort on and off the court to achieve our goals for this season, and I know we will continue to do that going into the next half of our season!” she added. 

Cerruti 

The Rams travel to Daytona Beach, Florida to play Curry College in a non-conference matchup Dec. 29.