UMass Boston Holds Off Fitchburg State, 70-67

Merchant sparks Falcons with 13 points and eight boards off the bench

FITCHBURG, Mass. (November 20, 2012) – The Fitchburg State women's basketball team opened its 2012-13 home slate this evening, falling to the Beacons of UMass Boston, 70-67 in non-conference action.

Junior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass./Canton) led the Beacons, who finished with her second career double-double in the win. Murphy totaled a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman Gabriela Cogliano (Saugus, Mass./Saugus) finished 8-of-13 from the field with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Four Falcons finished in double-figures led by freshman Megan Wodzinski's (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) 15 points. Senior Madeline Merchant (Garner, Mass./Monty Tech) was also solid with 13 points and eight boards off the bench, while junior Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) chipped in with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.

UMass Boston jumped out to a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game but would go ice-cold for the next 13 minutes. Fitchburg State quickly took the lead back behind Fahey, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half and helped the Falcons build a 22-10 lead. The Beacons cut into their deficit however, trailing just 29-24 at the break as Murphy notched with seven points and seven rebounds in the frame.

Second-half action was a completely different story, as the Beacons and Falcons went back-and-forth with 11 lead changes and three ties. UMass Boston got off to a hot-start by hitting their first four field-goal attempts to grab a 34-32 lead at the 17:24 mark, but from that point on, neither side grabbed a lead larger than four points the rest of the way. 

For Fitchburg State, Merchant knocked down a trio of three pointers to counter the Beacons high-powered attack. After Morrison hit two free throws to give the Beacons a 59-58 lead, Wodzinski buried Fitchburg's State's 12th three of the night to give the Falcons a 61-59 lead.

Morrison tied the game right away with two free throws and Cogliano gave the Beacons the lead back (63-61) with a bucket, but senior Kelsey Johnston (Shirley, Mass./Saint Bernards) knocked down a trey to tie the game at 64-64. Johnston would add a free throw to give the Falcons a 65-64 lead with less than 90 seconds to play.

The Beacons responded once again as Cogliano hit a layup with 1:06 to play and with just under 30 seconds remaining, Morrison converted a lay-up for a 68-65 advantage. Fitchburg State would make it 68-67 on Fahey's only points of the second half, but Morrison hit both free throws with seven seconds left to make it 70-69. On the final possession of the game, Johnston's three was just off the mark, pushing UMass Boston to 3-0.

Fitchburg State (1-2, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Monday night as it hosts Nichols College at 5:30 p.m. UMass Boston (3-0, 0-0 LEC) will visit Wheelock College next Thursday at 7 p.m.