Springfield Tops Fitchburg State, 79-65

Springfield Tops Fitchburg State, 79-65
Bertilson and Goreham lead Falcons off the bench

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (November 22, 2008) - The Fitchburg State women's basketball team fell to Springfield College, 79-65 in the first round of the Williams Tip-Off Classic in Chandler Gymnasium this evening.

JAMIE BERTILSON

REBECCA GOREHAM

Fitchburg State freshmen Jamie Bertilson (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) and Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) led the Falcon attack with 13 points apiece off the bench, while junior Kari Averill (Barre, Vt./Spaulding) chipped in with eight points and two assists.           

Springfield's balanced offensive attack was a key to victory, as all five starters scored in double-digits. Senior Corey Finch (Hanover, Penn./Hanover) led the Pride with a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds. Freshman Kelly Murphy (Mechanicville, N.Y./Mechanicville) led all scorers with 17 points, while senior Lauren O'Conner (Valhalla, N.Y./Valhalla) was not far behind with a 15-point effort on the night.

The Pride built a sizeable advantage by halftime, leading 42-26 at the break. Springfield continued their dominance in the second half, and amassed a thirty-point lead by the 12-minute mark of the second half.

Fitchburg State struggled in the first half, shooting only 32.4% from the floor, began to find their shooting stroke in the final minutes of play. With 2:05 on the clock, the Falcons had cut the lead in half, trailing by fifteen at 77-62, but the Pride ran out the final minutes on the clock to secure their second victory of the season.

Fitchburg State (1-2, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action tomorrow at 3 p.m. as it faces the winner of the 8 p.m. match up. Springfield (2-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will face the winner of the Williams/Middlebury game in the championship match up tomorrow at 1 p.m. 

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Springfield 79, Fitchburg State 65