Fahey and Cote combined for 39 points in Falcons MASCAC setback 

WESTFIELD, Mass. (January 21, 2012) – Sophomores Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) and Laura Cote (Ashby, Mass./Saint Bernards) combined for 39 points to pace the Fitchburg State basketball team, but the Falcons fell to Westfield State University, 84-66 in MASCAC action this evening.  

Freshman Jen Ashton (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) had game highs of 29 points, nine steals and seven assists to pace the Westfield State attack, while junior Angela Paterson (Nantucket, Mass./Nantucket) added 20 points in the Owls ninth win of the season.

Fahey ignited the Fitchburg State attack with a team-best 21 points, shooting 6-of-13 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free-throw line, while adding seven rebounds to the mix. Cote was also strong with 18 points on the night, while freshman Rebecca Fluet (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) added eight points and three boards off the bench.

Westfield State jumped out to an early advantage, using a 19 point first half effort from Ashton to post a 23 point advantage at the break (46-23). Paterson was also solid in the Owls first half explosion (11 points), connecting on back-to-back three to give Westfield State an 11 point lead (27-16) by the 8:36 mark.

The Owls extended their margin over the final minutes of the first period, breaking away with a 19-5 run over the last seven minutes of play. Cote led the Falcons with ten points on 4-of-6 shooting but Westfield State limited Fitchburg State to just 7-of-23 from the field to take a commanding lead at intermission.

Westfield State continued its hot shooting in the second half, racing out to as much as a 32 point lead in the stanza to seal the victory. Ashton capped her night with 13 points in the half, while Fahey sparked the Falcons with 16 points, hitting 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

For the contest, the Owls finished 45.8% from the field, including 39.3% from three point range. Despite shooting over 50.0% in the second half, Fitchburg State finished just 18-of-43 from the field and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Fitchburg State controlled the glass, 36-32, including senior Rebecca Goreham's (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) game-high 11 caroms.

Fitchburg State (14-4, 2-4 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it travels to Bridgewater State at 2 p.m. Westfield State (9-10, 2-4 MASCAC) will visit Salem State on Saturday at 1 p.m.