Women's Basketball wins their third in a row with 60-47 win over Framingham State

(Framingham, Mass.) The Rivier University Women's Basketball team won their third consecutive game as they defeated Framingham State University 60-47 on the road at FSU's Athletic Center this evening. With the triumph, the Raiders are now 4-1 on the young season while the Rams fall to 4-3.

Junior Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H.) poured in a game-best 22 points and hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds and added a trio of steals and a pair of blocks for the Raiders. Senior Ryan Baker (Whitinsville, Mass.) scored 13 points and corralled 10 boards as freshman Samantha Butterfield (Londonderry, N.H.) helped the guests with 11 points and a game-best four stops.

Framingham State was led by senior Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) with 11 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and a pair of helpers to go along with a block. Junior Samantha Irvine (Franklin, Mass.) pitched in with nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks while classmate Katelyn Iafolla (Franklin, Mass.) tacked on eight points for the Rams.

The Rams and Raiders traded the lead four times and were deadlocked six times over the first 20 minutes of action. Rivier jumped out to a 4-0 advantage just 1:31 into the game. A pair of jumpers by sophomore Kerry Coyne (North Attleboro, Mass.) and a triple by Irvine then gave the Rams a three-point lead, their largest of the game. Baker then broke a nearly five-minute scoring drought by both sides to bring the Raiders within a point midway through the first half. River turned a 9-7 deficit into a 12-9 lead courtesy of a three-pointer by senior Jaclyn Penniman (Dudley, Mass.) and a Baker layup with 8:42 left in the half.

Later in the frame, Iafolla and freshman Monta Connolly (Lynn, Mass.) each broke a stalemate on the front end of a pair of free throws. Coyne snapped the fifth tie of the game with a jumper as 2:09 showed on the scoreboard. Rivier then took a 21-18 lead into the locker room after freshman Caitlyn Perry (Nashua, N.H.) canned a pair of freebies and Purcell converted a three-point play.

Framingham State tied the game twice in just over three minutes; however, Butterfield hit a layup to give the Raiders the lead for good at the 16:31 mark. The guests lead ballooned to double digits with just under 12 minutes remaining. Irvine brought the game within nine points with a layup at 6:56 and Iafolla nailed a three-pointer less than 30 seconds later to inch within eight. Butterfield's layup at 6:16 pushed Rivier's lead back to double digits as the Raiders went on for the 60-47 victory.

The Rams held advantages in rebounds (54-46), points off turnovers (19-18), second chance points (11-6) and bench points (14-7) while 48 of the Raiders 60 points were scored in the paint.

The Women's Basketball team will close out their first semester action as they host Fisher College in a 7pm contest tomorrow night at the Muldoon Gymnasium. Framingham State will host Anna Maria College on Thursday night.