Falcons Sink Salem State to Kick off MASCAC Play, 66-50
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Salem St. (2-9, 0-1 MASCAC) | 21 | 29 | 50 |
|
Fitchburg St. (8-3, 1-0 MASCAC) | 35 | 31 | 66 |
Fluet drains a season-high 19 points in the Falcons conference victory
FITCHBURG, Mass. – Fitchburg State held off a late run by Salem State University, defeating the Vikings 66-50 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Thursday night at the Recreation Center on the campus of FSU. Senior guard Rebecca Fluet had a season-high 19 points to lead all scorers in the winning effort.
With the victory the Green & Gold improve to 9-3 (1-0 MASCAC), while Salem State drops to 2-10 (0-1 MASCAC) on the year.
Trailing by as many as 18 on two occasions to start the second half, the visitors were able to cut the Falcons lead to single digits on a free throw by freshman forward Savannah Spinney with 6:26 remaining– capping off a 7-0 run.
Senior guard Laura Cote responded however with a three-pointer followed by a jumper off of a turnover to end any threat of a comeback attempt.
Fitchburg State jumped out to an early 16-3 lead to start off the contest, taking advantage of multiple early turnovers by the Vikings. A layup by senior forward Tara Ingram put the Falcons up by 20 – a first half high at the 5:32 mark.
Following the layup Salem State proceeded on a run of their own, netting 12 points to the Falcons four to cut the deficit to 14 at half's end (35-21). The Vikings senior guard Rachael Carter led the opening stanza with 11 points, shooting 4-9 from the floor.
Fluet scored 11 of her 19 points in the closing half, shooting 8-14 from the field on the night. Cote chipped in with 14 points, while senior guard Britney Payne led the team with nine caroms along with four points, four assists, and three steals.
Salem State was led by Carter with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double, while Spinney contributed with 10 points, and freshman guard Saran Kaba had 10 rebounds in the loss.
Overall, Fitchburg State shot 37.3% (25-67) from the floor, while the Vikings went 18-54 (33.3%) from the hardwood. The Falcons held a slim 45-44 edge in rebounds, and 24-12 differential in points off of turnovers.
The Falcons will be on the road for their next contest as they travel to Framingham State on Saturday for a 1:00 pm tipoff. The Vikings will also be back in conference play on Saturday with a road game at Worcester State at 6:00 pm.