FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Regis College could not overcome an early deficit, as Framingham State raced out to the lead on its way to a 72-52 victory Thursday night in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at the FSU Athletic Center.
Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.) hit 5-of-6 field goal attempts as she led the Pride with 12 points, plus she pulled down seven rebounds. Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) and Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) each finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, one steal, and one blocked shot, while Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) contributed seven points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
Framingham State (6-4) struck quickly with a three-pointer by Emily Velozo, starting a run that she ended with a layup to give the Rams a 14-3 lead halfway through the first quarter. Regis closed to within seven on a layup by Bitinaitis, but Framingham State scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 20-9 lead into the second period.
Another three-pointer by Velozo two minutes into the second quarter extended the Ram advantage to 26-10, but a 10-4 scoring run by the Pride, featuring Searcy with the last five points in a row, cut the Regis deficit to 30-20 halfway through the quarter. However, Framingham State was able to increase the lead once again, taking a 40-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Just as she did to start the game, Velozo began the second half with a three-pointer as the Rams eventually extended their lead to 20 at 50-30 on a layup by Velozo. Regis closed that margin by a few points, but a three-pointer by Camille Desrochers on the Rams' final possession of the third quarter allowed the home team to reestablish a 20-point lead at 61-41.
Tiphani Harris scored the first four points of the fourth quarter for the Rams as they eventually took their largest lead of the night at 70-43. Regis was able to bring the final margin back down to 20 thanks to three-pointers by Bitinaitis, Marissa Prall (Hopkinton, Mass.), and Chayla Louro (Randolph, Mass.).
Velozo hit 9-of-13 field goal attempts, including 4-of-7 shots from behind the three-point line, to lead all players with 24 points, while Harris hit 7-of-10 field goal attempts as she finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Mary Kate O'Day contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and five steals to the winning effort.
As a team, the Rams shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field, including 8-of-19 from behind the three-point line, and 80 percent (8-of-10) from the free throw line. Framingham State scored 24 points off 23 Regis turnovers.
The Pride shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field, but just 3-of-14 from behind the three-point line and 7-of-20 from the free throw line. Regis won the rebounding battle, 43-34, including 16 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second chance points.
Regis (1-5) closes the pre-holiday portion of the schedule with a home game against Southern Maine Saturday, Dec. 15, starting at 1 p.m. at Higgins Court.