Fitchburg State Tops Worcester State, 59-53

Fahey's 27 point effort leads Falcons to MASCAC victory over Lancers

FITCHBURG, Mass. (January 17, 2012) – Sophomore Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) registered a game-high 27 points to lead the Fitchburg State women's basketball team to a 59-53 MASCAC victory over Worcester State University this evening.

Fahey led all scorers, shooting 11-of-19 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to notch yet another 20+ point performance on the year. Fahey was joined by sophomore Laura Cote (Ashby, Mass./Saint Bernards) who tallied 11 points and five boards, and junior Kelsey Johnston (Shirley, Mass./Saint Bernards) who chipped in with ten points and four caroms.

For the Lancers, senior captain Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, Mass./Fairhaven) was the lone player in double-figures, registering ten points and seven boards on the evening, while junior Megan O'Keefe (Warren, Mass./Quabog) added eight points and six caroms to the mix. Sophomore Meghan Burns (W. Brookfield, Mass./Quabog) was also solid for Worcester State, totaling seven points, eight rebounds and six steals in the contest.

In the first half, Fitchburg State opened an 11 point lead by the break and held off a second half comeback from the Lancers to post its second conference victory of the season. The Falcons drew a six point lead just six minutes into the contest as five consecutive points from Cote broke open a 9-8 contest to give Fitchburg State a 14-8 advantage.

The Falcons continued that momentum for the remainder of the half, spurring together an 11-2 run late in the stanza for their 11 point halftime margin. Johnston accounted for five points throughout the surge, but a back-to-back steals from Jackie Boffoli (Holden, Mass./Wachusett Regional) provided the defense spark for Fitchburg State.

In the second half, Fitchburg State opened strong, taking a 19 point lead by the midway point, but Worcester State hung on strong, limiting the Falcons to just 9-of-26 shooting to make its comeback attempt. The Lancers used a balanced attack to piece together a 12-0 run and cut the Falcons lead to just seven (51-44) with 4:45 remaining in the contest.

Worcester State continued to battle down the stretch brining the game within four (57-53) with 0:15 remaining, but a pair of free-throws by Cote sealed the contest for the Falcons. For the game, Fitchburg State shot 37.1% from the field, hitting 23 of its 62 attempts, while Worcester State was held to just 30.0% from the field.  

Fitchburg State (14-1, 2-1 MASCAC) will be back in action on Thursday as it visits Salem State University at 5:30 p.m. Worcester State (7-9, 1-3 MASCAC) will host Bridgewater State on Thursday at 6 p.m.