Fitchburg State Falls At Rivier, 80-61

Fahey and Johnston pace Falcons with 14 points apiece

NASHUA, N.H. (November 29, 2012) – The Fitchburg State women's basketball team suffered a tough loss on the road this evening, falling to Rivier College, 80-61 in non-conference action at Muldoon Gymnasium.

Four Raiders score in double figures led by Deanna Purcell (Hudson, NH) who scored a game high 26 points with 9-of-15 shooting from the floor. Junior A.J. Guidi (Derry, NH) finished the game with 13 points while classmates Ryan Baker (Whitinsville, MA) and Erin Sweeney (Chicopee, MA) had 11 points each.

Fitchburg State was led by the duo of junior Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) and senior Kelsey Johnston (Shirley, Mass./Saint Bernards) who had 14 points apiece. Fahey tied Purcell for the game high with nine rebounds and sophomore Rebecca Fluet (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) had seven boards in the loss.

It was intense tight game through the first 20 minutes as the Falcons overcame an eight point deficit and held a four point lead with 5:38 remaining. However, Rivier sophomore Shannon Marcoux (Falmouth, MA) connected for a pair of three-pointers down the stretch to give the Raiders a 34-32 lead at the half. Marcoux finished with eight points off the bench.

In the second half, the Raiders came out blazing, posting a 17-2 run to open the stanza. A trio of three-pointers from Purcell highlighted Rivier's second half outburst, adding to her 20 point second half effort.  Junior Laura Yesu (Longmeadow, MA) added seven points in the frame, while Fahey led the Falcons with eight points and seven caroms.

Rivier pushed ahead, shooting strongly from beyond with an 8-for-23 (34.8%) night while Fitchburg State shot just 1-for-8 from long range and 25-of-68 from the field. The Falcons controlled the glass 51-38, but the Raiders forced 24 Fitchburg State turnovers en route to 17 crucial points.

Fitchburg State (1-4, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it travels to Lasell College at 6 p.m. Rivier (3-2, 0-0) will host Emerson College on Saturday at 1 p.m.