Falcons Outmatched by Owls

Fitchburg, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State Women's Basketball team dropped a 100-56 decision to the visiting Owls of Westfield State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Parkinson Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

  The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 56, Westfield State 100
Records: Fitchburg State (2-13, 1-3 MASCAC) | Westfield State (9-9, 3-3 MASCAC)

How It Happened

1st Quarter

Westfield State raced out to a quick 7-0 lead on baskets from Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.), Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.), and Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.). Fitchburg State freshman Rylie Harlow (Hanson, Mass.) and classmate Pena Niles (Billerica, Mass.) countered with a pair of buckets to make it a 10-6 game. Hadla and Isabella Aitken (Pittsfield, Mass.) extended the lead for the Owls (20-8) with back-to-back three-pointers.  Senior Jadelen Harold (Nantucket, Mass.) added a basket late for the Falcons before the Owls closed out the quarter with three from the charity stripe and the 25-10 lead.

2^nd Quarter

In the second quarter, Fitchburg State closed the gap (36-20) with seven straight points from Harold midway through the frame. Westfield State answered with nine points down the stretch capped by a try from Aitken to hold a 53-27 advantage at intermission.

 3^rd Quarter

The visitors opened the second half with a 14-0 run, including six points from Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.).  Freshman Rylie Harlow (Hanson, Mass.) tallied a three-point play for the Green and Gold to cut into the Westfield lead and added four points at the end of the quarter (82-41).

4^th Quarter

In the fourth quarter, the Falcons started with five points from freshman Morgan Genness (Belgrade, Maine) off a pair of jumpers and a free throw.  The Owls continued to build on its lead as Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) had an offensive rebound and a layin to make the score 92-48.  Fitchburg State answered back on a layup from Harlow and a deep ball from Olivia Almeida (Wilmington, Mass.) resulting in the final.

Inside the Numbers

• The Falcons were led by Harlow with a team-best 13 points and 9 rebounds. Almeida connected for 10 points with 3 assists, three steals, and 6 rebounds off the bench.
• Hadla had a game-high 17 points for Westfield, Aitken chipped in with 16 points off the bench
• Westfield shot 36-of-94 (38.3%) from the field and (15-for-49) 30.6% from three-point range
• Fitchburg State finished 21-for-54 (38.9%) overall and (4-for-17) 23.5% for beyond the arc
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Up Next

Falcons return to action on Monday (1/31) when they host Framingham State at 5:00 PM