Fitchburg State Knocked Off by Visiting Westfield State, 106-30, in MASCAC Opener

FITCHBURG, Mass. - Fitchburg State University women's basketball opened its regular-season conference schedule on Wednesday evening, dropping the first-of-two meetings with Westfield State University by the final of 106-30 at the Parkinsons Gymnasium in the Rec Center.

The visiting Owls were sparked by the duo of junior Jill Valley and senior Forbasaw Nkambo, as the pair scored 18 points each, tying for game-high in points with each going 8-of-11 from the field.

For the Green and Gold, senior forward senior Stephanie Leveillee led her team tallying eight points and 10 boards, finishing just two points shy of a double-double in the team's first conference game. 

Westfield State got on the board first when Valley picked up her first two of the game hitting a jump-shot from just inside the three-point stripe to give the Owls an early advantage.

Following consecutive Falcon turnovers, the visiting Owls proceeded to score 12 unanswered points in the first two minutes of the quarter to push their lead to 12-0.

At the 6:39 mark the Green and Gold hit their first field goal of the quarter when sophomore Holly Wentworth cashed an open-look, her only two points in the contest, sparking a modest 6-2 Fitchburg run in the process.  

The Owls regained their foothold in the first quarter when junior Kirsy Segarra hit a pair of lay-ups, kicking off a 19-5 run to close out the first leading 39-9. 

During the second stanza, the Owls run continued as the visiting team scored 13 with no response from Fitchburg State, getting three-consecutive three-pointers from three separate players and wrapping up the first half with a 59-17 advantage.

After the intermission, Westfield State continued its relentless play by scoring 31 total points in the third, paced by Valley's seven points. 

Over the final 10 minutes, Fitchburg State turned in its best quarter of the game, scoring 10 points during the fourth as Leveillee and junior guard Briana Pelton combined for eight points to chip away at the deficit before hearing the final buzzer sound with the final score of 106-30.

Westfield State had the three-ball working throughout the game as six different Owls hit shots from beyond the arc, finishing the game by going 8-of-19 (42.1%) from deep. 

Fitchburg State struggled throughout, going 13-of-60 (21.7%) from the field in suffering its first conference loss.

The visitors held the advantage on the glass totaling 53 rebounds with the home team pulling down 46 boards. 

Fitchburg State (0-13; 0-1 MASCAC) will resume conference play on Wednesday January 18 when it travels to Bridgewater State to take on the Bears. 

Westfield State (7-4; 1-0 MASCAC) hosts conference opponent MCLA on Saturday January 9 starting at 1:00 p.m.

Release courtesy of Fitchburg State student journalist Kyle Prudhomme

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