FRAMINGHAM, Mass.  – Top-seeded Framingham State University posted an 84-69 victory over #2 seed Bridgewater State University in the championship game of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Athletic Center.

The Rams (22-3) advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second straight time. Tournament pairings will be announced on Monday, March 2nd at 2:30 PM. The Bears end the season with an overall record of 20-8.

Tournament MVP Gwendolyn Carpenter (Ashley Falls, Mass.) paced Framingham State with 20 points, six rebounds and a game-high nine assists. Carpenter went 5-for-10 from the floor and 8-for-9 at the free throw line.

Sophomore forwards Flannery O'Connor (Amesbury, Mass.) and Katty Haidul (Gilford, N.H.) each recorded double-doubles for the Rams. O'Connor, who knocked down 11 of 18 field goal attempts and 7 of 8 free throws, scored a game-high 29 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. Haidul checked in with 17 points and 15 boards. 

Sophomore guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 13 points, two rebounds, six assists and four steals, while senior guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) tallied a team-high 14 points. Junior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) checked in with 11 points and six boards for the Bears, and freshman guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) added 11 points.

The first quarter was tightly contested with Framingham State holding a 16-13 lead at the end of one. The Rams used a 14-4 run over a five-minute stretch of the second quarter to turn a two-point game into a 33-19 lead. Carpenter converted a pair of three-point plays during the key run. Framingham would take a 37-28 advantage into the break.

Carpenter and O'Connor tallied 12 point apiece in the first half with Carpenter scoring 11 points in the second quarter and O'Connor tallying ten points in the opening period. 

A layup by Krysta Padellaro (Newburyport, Mass.) to open the third quarter gave the Rams an 11-point lead. Framingham would maintain a double-digit advantage the rest of the way and got up by as many as 21 points in the second half.

The Rams shot 48% (27-56) for the game and went 27-for-33 (82%) at the free throw line. Framingham made 26 more trips to the charity stripe than the Bears and finished with a 47-29 rebounding advantage.

The Bears connected on 39% (29-74) of their field goal attempts and went 7-for-25 (28%) from behind the arc and just 4-for-7 at the line.