NEWPORT, R.I. -- Senior captain Sofia Neary (Wayne, N.J.) scored a game-high 24 points for Salve Regina University women's basketball but the Seahawks fell by a dozen to the Rams of Framingham State University, 68-56, in the season opener for both teams at the Rodgers Recreation Center in Newport, Rhode Island. Framingham State (1-0, 0-0 MASCAC) took a 14-10 lead after the first quarter horn sounded. The opening 10 minutes featured three ties and two lead changes. The Rams won or tied the remaining three quarters.

The game started scoreless for the first 90 seconds until Neary made back-to-back layups for a 4-0 Salve Regina (0-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) lead. Jacqueline Schels (Hamburg, N.J.) got the Rams on the board and Kiara Cerruti (Canton, Mass.) tied the score at 4-all. Framingham had its best margin in the final quarter as it outscored Salve Regina, 20-14.

Senior captain Marissa Forino (Watertown, Conn.) joined Neary in double-figure scoring with 11 points including half of the Seahawks' 3-pointers made. Junior captain Deanna Linscott (Pembroke, Mass.) and freshman Hannah Lauenstein (Delmar, N.Y.) hit the other two shots from long range for Salve Regina.

The Rams had five players in double-digit points led by Schels' 15 as a starter while senior captain Abigail Martin (Hanson, Mass.) scored 14 off the bench. The Seahawks had the edge in rebounding (49-to-45) with nearly half (24) from the offensive glass.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Framingham State 68, Salve Regina 56
Records: Salve Regina (0-1), Framingham State (1-0)
History: Salve Regina leads the all-time series (started in 1982), 5-4.

SUMMARY

• 1Q | Abigail Martin came off the bench and broke an 8-8 tie with her first field goal of the game with 2:38 on the clock. After a Seahawk miss on the other end, Martin boosted the Ram lead to four with a layup. Zaria Anderson made 2-of-4 free throws for the largest advantage of the quarter (14-8) before Hannah Lauenstein closed out the period with a pair from the line. Neary and Martin led their respective clubs with four points apiece. | Rams 14, Seahawks 10
• 2Q | Kelsey Yelle opened the scoring 78 seconds into the period with a floating jumper after a Seahawk turnover. Lauenstein's 3-pointer cut the Seahawk deficit in half (16-13). Sophie Hjerpe made a pull up jumper just outside the paint before Neary's free throw pulled Salve Regina within two, 18-16. Martin's basket at 4:13 gave the Rams an eight-point lead (26-18), but Hjerpe's jumper at 1:37 trimmed the score to 28-25. Cerruti's eighth point of the quarter came just before the buzzer. | Rams 32, Seahawks 26
• 3Q | The Rams had their first double-digit lead after a fast break layup from Kelsey Yelle at the 8:10 mark (38-28). Baskets by Neary, Hjerpe, Forino and then two free throws from Neary had the Seahawks back to within two (38-36). Neary's nine points led all players in the 3rd quarter as Salve Regina and Framingham both finished with 16 in the period. | Rams 48, Seahawks 42
• 4Q | The Seahawks started six down in the 4th just as they had coming out of halftime. Neary's layup at 8:44 kept the deficit there but the Rams got a 3-pointer from Ava McKeon to start a 10-2 run. Forino and Linscott hit treys in the quarter, but Martin's driving layup was the final score on the board. | Rams 68, Seahawks 56

NOTEWORTHY

• Sofia Neary posted a double-double with her game-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds; she also added five steals.
• Salve Regina's best scoring run (8-0) came in the 3rd quarter.
• The Seahawks crashed the offensive glass (24 caroms) and had 13 second-chance points.
• Hannah Lauenstein led all players with three assists in her collegiate debut.
• Both teams shot 71.4 percent from the charity stripe (Framingham 15-of-21; Salve Regina 10-of-14).
• In last January's meeting in Framingham, Ashley Rourke became the 17th Seahawk to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

ON THE HORIZON
Salve Regina travels to Boston for a Wednesday night (5:30 p.m.) meeting with Suffolk University.