Pilgrims Nip Falcons in Women’s Basketball

Fitchburg, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State women's basketball team fell to the Pilgrims of New England College 72-47 in non-conference action today at the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 47, New England College 72
Records: Fitchburg State (1-8) | New England College (6-4)

How It Happened

1st Quarter

Trailing 6-2 early in the contest, Falcons' freshman Rylie Harlow (Hanson, Mass.) dropped a trey and classmate Ephemian Bailey (Maple Grove, Minn.) added a layup to give the Green and Gold a 7-6 lead. Knotted at 9-9 the Pilgrims responded with an 8-0 run capped by a lay-in from senior Briana Pierreval (Boynton Beach, Fla.). Fitchburg finished the frame with a bucket from senior Jadelen Harold (Nantucket, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 23-13.

2nd Quarter

Fitchburg State chipped the lead to 27-16 to start the second quarter when newcomer Pena Niles (Billerica, Mass.) drained a three-pointer. The Pilgrims would up the margin (36-21) with a pair of buckets from senior Kayla Goldring (Hollywood, Md.) however the Falcons counted with four points from freshman Morgan Genness (Belgrade, Maine) to make it a 36-25 ballgame. Senior Mariah Thomas (Cypress, Texas) hit a jumper in the last minute to extend New England College's lead to 40-28 at halftime.

3rd Quarter

Following intermission, Fitchburg State continued to battle and reeled off five straight points with a three-pointer from Genness and a jumper from Harold to cut the lead to 40-33. New England College then went on a 19-3 run to push the lead to 59-36 to end the quarter.

4th Quarter

Fitchburg State closed the gap to 61-38 on a jumper from Harold before NEC answered with a Goldring bucket. The Falcons would respond as Harlow completed a three-point play, but the Pilgrims secured the victory when freshman MacKenzie McNutt (Dover, NH) connected on trey, resulting in the 72-47 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Harold paced the Falcons with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, while Harlow finished with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.  
• For the Pilgrims, Goldring led the way with 16 points and a game-high eighteen caroms.
• New England College shot 28-for-77 (36.4%) from the field and (7-for-27) 25.9% from three-point range
• Fitchburg State finished 16-for-50 (32%) overall and (6-for19) 31.6% for beyond the arc
• New England College held a 57-37 advantage on the boards

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Tuesday when they head to Dean College for a non-conference match-up beginning at 5:00 PM.