Fitchburg State Clipped By UMass Boston, 81-75
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mass.-Boston (2-2) | 24 | 17 | 18 | 22 | 81 |
|
Fitchburg St. (1-3) | 22 | 24 | 15 | 14 | 75 |
Rose and Rizzuto combine for 51 points for Falcons in non-conference setback
FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State women's basketball team suffered a tough 81-75 setback to the Beacons of UMass Boston in non-conference action at Parkinson Gymnasium this evening.
Fitchburg State opened the contest with a 6-1 run on a pair of three-pointer by freshman guard Emma Thomson. The Beacons responded with a 9-2 stretch as junior forward Raven Kelsey and senior guard Chantel Jordan notched two buckets each for UMass Boston.
UMass Boston upped its advantage to as many as eight with just over three minutes left in the first quarter, going on a 7-2 run with sophomore guard Ariana Rivera converting a layup and a three pointer. The Falcons slowly chipped away, cutting the deficit to just two as newcomer Allysa Rivera connected on a layup to make the score 24-22 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, UMass Boston expanded its margin (29-24) early in the frame on a layup by Jordan and a trey ball from freshman Alecia Quinones. The Green and Gold answered back, with an 11-2 run, capped by a three pointer by freshman Kyra Rose to take a 41-31 lead with 4:04 left in the frame as the Falcons took a 44-40 lead into the break.
Following intermission, the Beacons went on an 8-3 run to start to the third quarter as senior Katrina Edwards, Jordan, sophomore Michaela Ilebode and newcomer Maritza Scott made baskets to knot the score at 49-49.
With the score tied at 59-59, Fitchburg State regained the lead when sophomore center Katelynn Rizzuto hit a layup with 41 seconds left in the stanza as the Falcons took a 61-59 margin into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth quarter, the Beacons tied the contest up on a jumper from Jordan before the two teams traded baskets throughout most of the frame before UMass Boston pulled away, going on a 5-2 scoring run to close out the contest, resulting in the 81-75 final.
For Fitchburg State, Rose led all scorers with a game-best 32 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one block and three steals, while Rizzuto added a double-double of 19 points and 12 caroms to go also with three assists, two blocks and four steals.
Jordan paced the Beacons offense with a team-leading 21 points, three boards and one steal, while Kelsey posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds as well as three assists, one block and four steals.
Throughout the game, Fitchburg State shot 38.7 % (24-for-62) from the field, while going 8-for-23 (34.8%) from beyond the arc. The Beacons finished 31-for-80 (38.8%) overall, including 25.0% (7-of-28) from downtown.
Fitchburg State (1-3, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action next Tuesday as it hosts the AMCATS of Anna Maria for a contest starting at 7:30 p.m. UMass Boston (2-2, 0-0 LEC) will travel to Colby next Tuesday for a 5;30 start time.
