Fitchburg State Stays Hot At Anna Maria, 75-58

Falcons open second half of 2011-12 season with 11th consecutive victory

PAXTON, Mass. (January 3, 2012) – Sophomore Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) kept Fitchburg State's 11 game-winning streak alive, using a team-best 24 point effort as the Falcons defeated Anna Maria College, 75-58 in non-conference action this evening.

Fahey opened the second half of the season with yet another double-double, adding 16 rebounds to her 10-of-21 shooting performance. Senior Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) also tallied a double-double of her own with 14 points and team-best 17 rebounds, while sophomores Laura Cote (Ashby, Mass./Saint Bernards) and Meghan Secino (Leominster, Mass./Saint Bernards) notched double figures with 12 points and ten points respectively.

Fitchburg State controlled the contest from the get-go, taking an early 7-0 lead just 3:20 into the game. Goreham and Fahey put the Falcons on the board with back-to-back lay-up while Cote capped the surge with a dagger from beyond the arc.

The Falcons continued their first half momentum boasting a 12 point lead by the midway point and as much as a 16 point lead (24-8) with six minutes remaining in the stanza. Anna Maria bounced back using a 11-2 run to cut the Fitchburg State lead to only seven, but a pair of Fahey lay-ups in the final minutes of the half gave the Falcons a nine point cushion at the break (30-21).

In the second half, the Green and Gold came out firing again, notching a 7-2 run to collect a 14 point advantage just 2:10 into the period. The AmCats continued to stay within striking distance however, coming within three points at the 15:04 mark, but the Falcons surged ahead in the final four minutes of the contest with a 13-3 run to clinch the victory.

For the contest, Fitchburg State shot 36.1% from the floor but hit a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe and 5-of-14 from downtown. The Falcons took advantage of 21 AmCat turnover while also turning in 11 team blocks on the night. Fahey paced the Falcons defense with six blocks and three steals on the night, while Goreham added 13 defensive boards, four assists and four thefts in the game.

Fitchburg State (11-0, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it hosts Bridgewater State University at 1 p.m. Anna Maria (4-7, 0-0 TCCC) will visit Pine Manor College on Saturday at 1 p.m.