Fitchburg, MA --- Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT) netted a season-best 16 points and visiting WPI outrebounded Fitchburg State 44-28 as the Crimson and Gray defeated the Falcons 59-31 in a non-conference women's basketball matchup played on Wednesday evening in FSU's Recreation Center.
The Engineers have now won two straight to improve to 5-1 on the campaign while Fitchburg State slips to 1-6 overall.
WPI held the Falcons scoreless over the final 7:42 of the opening quarter, rattling off the frame's final 19 points to increase a two-point advantage at 4-2 into a 21-point bulge at the end of the stanza at 23-2. Rebounding played a huge part as the guests corralled 13 of the first 14 rebounds and held a 14-3 edge on the glass in the first 10 minutes.
Allison Prentis (Mansfield, MA) opened the second quarter with a three-pointer in the corner and Stephanie Hart (Shirley, MA) and Rylie Harlow (Hanson, MA) hit jumpers for the Green and Gold to cut the deficit to 23-9 but back-to-back buckets from Lisa Cristiano (Valhalla, NY) and Kelly forged WPI ahead 28-9. The Falcons answered with a jumper from Aliza Som (Lowell, MA) and a pair from the charity stripe from Ephemian Bailey (Maple Grove, MN). Cristiano closed out the quarter with four points for the 34-13 WPI lead at intermission.
After the break ,WPI extended the lead (38-13) with a layup from Cristiano, however the Falcons answered with a three-point play from Harlow and a fast-break layup from Juliana Davis (Templeton, MA). Adrianna Niles (Tewksbury, MA) and Megan Stone (Hanson, MA) connected for the visitors and the Green and Gold ended the frame with a pair of free throws from Davis. Hart opened the fourth quarter with five straight points for the Falcons before WPI countered with a trey from Niles. A steal and a layup from Shannon Reno (Millbury, MA) pushed the WPI lead to 57-27. Delany Brown (Billerica, MA) closed out the scoring for the hosts with a lay in, resulting in the 59-31 final.
Kelly duplicated her season-high scoring total set November 12th against Clark in the Worcester City Tournament title game. Wednesday against Fitchburg State the junior drained 7-of-10 shots from the field on her way to her 16 point and added seven rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Cristiano also shot well while reaching double-figures in scoring. The senior canned 5-of-6 field goal attempts her way to 11 points and six boards.
Alex Scariati (Scotch Plains, NJ) contributed game-bests of eight rebounds and five assists while Niles netted 10 points, Melanie Presseau (Manchester, NH) seven and Stone connected on both of her shots for four points.
Hart paced the Falcons with 7 points, four rebounds, and a block. Caileen Hurley (Whitman, MA) finished with a team-high 8 rebounds.
Both teams are at home in their next contests. WPI plays host to Bowdoin Friday at 6pm in the Sports & Recreation Center while the Falcons play the third game of a four-game homestand on Saturday, entertaining Lesley at noon.