Mount Ida College women's basketball sophomore Katie Morvan (Northbridge, MA/Northbridge) notched her fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a tough 69-62 loss to visiting non-conference Framingham State College Thursday night in Newton, Massachusetts. The Mustangs drop their first game back from winter break falling to 6-6 overall with their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest approaching this Saturday. The Rams improve to an even .500 at 4-4 with the win.
After a short stint in the driver seat for the Mustangs up 11-7 early, the visitors countered building a six point advantage in the opening ten minutes of the contest up 21-15 with 9:55 to go in the half after a three point play by Ram freshman Kia Minor (Oak Bluffs, MA/Martha's Vineyard).
It remained a close game for the rest of the first half with Mount Ida tying the score for the fifth time of the contest after a good trifecta by senior Cherie Parisi (South Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) with 3:58 to go before the break.
The Mustangs cut the lead to one point on an Ashley Boyd (Hanson, MA/Hanson-Whitman) lay-in with time expiring trailing 36-37 heading into the locker room.
The hosts caught fire to begin the second stanza on a barrage of offense, mostly from Morvan who recorded 12 points during the stretch, to give the Mustangs a 12 point advantage with 10:54 to go in the game.
Mount Ida eventually went cold along with a plethora of turnovers giving the visitors the opening to get back into the game. The Rams powered up a 10-0 run that started with 5:21 to go in the game and didn't end until the two minute mark giving the visitors a commanding 66-60 lead.
The Mustangs had no answer for their opposition and ultimately were handed the loss for their sixth of the season. Turnovers and sloppy passing killed the hosts' big lead and their confidence that eventually led to their loss.
Along with Morvan, there were three other Mount Ida players in double figures with Parisi netting 10 points along with seven caroms and four assists. Sophomore guard Jeileen Rivera (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) scored 11 while senior Nicole Casimiro (Lee, NH/Oyster River) tallied 12 points with four boards.
Ram senior Toya Chester (Leominster, MA/Ayer) had the hot hand for the visitors notching a double-double of her own with 22 points and 10 boards. Junior Nicole McConaghy (Medford, MA/Arlington Catholic) was also solid for the visitors with 14 points and six rebounds with teammate Jill Johnson (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) chipping in 13.
The Mustangs will host their first GNAC contest of the season this Saturday against cross town rival Lasell College starting at 1:00 p.m.