WESTFIELD – Tournament MVP Jill Valley (Mahar/Orange, Mass.) scored a game high 21 points and delivered a dagger three-pointer late in the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament championship game as Westfield State University topped Framingham State by an 83-74 final Saturday.
In the fourth quarter, Westfield broke open what had been a close game throughout. Leading 71-69 with 6:54 to play, the Owls pulled away with a 7-0 run over the next 3:05, on a jumper by Rebecca Sapouckey (Granby/Chipee, Mass.), a layup from Kirsy Segarra (Holyoke, Mass.) and a decisive three-pointer from Valley that gave Westfield a 78-69 lead with 3:48 left in the game and the Owls held on down the stretch, never letting the Rams with seven points in the closing stretch.
Lucy Barrett drives the basketball in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Woodward Center in the MASCAC Championship game
on Saturday afternoon. The Owls defeated Framingham, 83-74. (Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
With the win, Westfield (18-8) earned its second straight MASCAC crown and earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national championship tournament. Brackets for the NCAA tournament will be announced on Monday, February 27.
“This team has been special,” said Owls head coach Andrea Bertini. “They have played a brutally tough schedule, they’ve been in a lot of close games, and survived Thursday’s semifinal. This group is a special group in that mentally they never got out of it.”
Westfield led 22-21 after the first period as the two teams traded three-pointers in the closing seconds of the frame.
The Owls built a 42-36 lead at the half. Westfield gained some breathing room over the final 4:35 of the half, closing the stanza with a modest 11-6 run after Rams’ 6-1 senior center Alycia Rackliffe (Agawam/Feeding Hills, Mass.) went to the bench with her third personal foul. Rackliffe had scored eight points, and grabbed six rebounds while blocking three shots to that point. Westfield was led by 10 first-half points from Valley.
Westfield extended its lead in the early stages of the second half, leading by as many as 10 points, 58-48 on an old-fashioned three point play by sophomore forward Kierra McCarthy (Ludlow, Mass.).
Framingham rallied to take brief leads at 61-60 on a three-point play by Rackliffe, and led 62-60 after a Tiphini Harris (Revere, Mass.) free throw with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. But Valley wouldn’t let that lead stand for long, draining a spot-up three-pointer on the next possession that gave Westfield a 63-62 lead entering the fourth quarter.
MASCAC Tournament MVP Jill Valley
receives the award from league commissioner
Angela Baumann. (Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
“Jill will go down in the history of the program as the greatest winner,” said Bertini She hit a couple of clutch shots and hit a couple of shots not many players can make. Not many players can stop in transition and bury a jumper from 20 feet that effortlessly.”
Tournament MVP Valley finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists. Westfield State entered the game as the highest scoring team in the nation at almost 90 points per game, and Valley got scoring support from Lucy Barrett (Mt Greylock/Williamstown, Mass.) who added 18 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor, McCarthy, who scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Segarra netted 11 points.
“The kids stepped up,” said Bertini. “We had some great cuts to the basket from Barrett and McCarthy, and Rebecca and Keri [Paton] had some great passes. Framingham overplays you and pressures, and they make you have to go to the basket.”
Westfield out-rebounded the rams 57-41 and grabbed 22 offensive rebounds. Junior center Sapouckey grabbed 14 rebounds to go with eight points, and senior forward Ashley Giampetruzzi (Manchester Central/Manchester, N.H.) grabbed 10 rebounds for the Owls.
“At the end of the game we needed possessions and I has 5-7 forwards out there that were outmuscling them for rebounds, said Bertini. “With their rebounders and their size, you’d think it would be a disadvantage . . . but as they say its not the size of dog in the fight its size of the fight in the dog. I thought we were the more hungry team.”
Framingham finishes its season at 20-5, setting a school record for wins in a season. Rackliffe led the way for the Rams with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks, and finishes fourth all-time on the Rams scoring list. Raegan Mulherin (Narragansett Reg./ Baldwinville, Mass.) added 10 points and six rebounds, and Sarah Palace (Auburn, Mass.) added 10 points before fouling out.
The Owls celebrate back-to-back MASCAC Championships (Rick Sgalia photo/WSU)
“Framingham is a fantastic team and they had a fantastic season, and I knew they were going to give us all that we could handle,” said Bertini.
The game was a rematch of the 2016 title game, which the Owls won 92-86. Westfield and Framingham had split a pair of regular-season meetings this season, with each team winning on its home court.
Both teams had buzzer beating finishes in tough games the semifinals on Thursday night, and it looked like both teams may have been a little worse for the wear today.
Westfield shot 39 percent from the floor in the game and just 5-28 (18 pct) from three-point range, as well as 20-33 from the line. Framingham posted similar numbers at 38 percent from the floor and 5-17 (29 pct.) from three point range, and just 13-25 (52 pct.) at the line.
“We were definitely gassed at times, ” said Bertini. It was unseasonably hot outside today, hot in the gym, and knew we’d have a great crowd today which just heats it up even more.”
A vocal crowd of around 1,000 spectators attended the game, with both teams well represented.
“The fans were amazing today and this season, and our parents and families have been so positive and hung with us all year,” said Bertini. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
