Fitchburg State Continues Its Trend Over Emerson, 72-69

Cote lifts Falcons to perfect 7-0 mark with 20 points; Goreham snags 22 rebounds

BOSTON, Mass. (December 3, 2011) – The Fitchburg State women's basketball team continued its impressive start to the 2011-12 season, gaining its seventh straight victory with a close 72-69 triumph at Emerson College this afternoon.

The first half saw the Emerson surge to the forefront with a 31-27 lead at the break despite Fitchburg State's 11-of-31 shooting from the field.  The Lions were paced by Olivia DiNuicci (Pittsburg, Pa./Shaler Area) who hit for 11 of her game-high 24 points in the half, while sophomore Laura Cote (Ashby, Mass./Saint Bernards) shot 4-of-6 from the field to total nine points for the Falcons.

In the second half, Fitchburg State began to chip away at the Emerson lead, scoring 14 points off turnovers and 16 points in the paint. Despite both teams' strong second half play, the game was ultimately decided at the free-throw line as Emerson sent Fitchburg State to the charity stripe 31 times in the half. The Falcons converted 20 of the free-throws, including five over the last minute of play, but a Cote free-throw with 0:13 remaining sealed the deal for the Falcons. 

Sophomore Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) continue her strong start to the season with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Cote finished with a season-best 20 points, hitting 10-of-14 from the line. Senior Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) was tenacious on the boards for the Falcons, turning in game-high 22 caroms with 12 points for a double-double.

For the contest, Fitchburg State finished 22-of-61 from the field, including 6-of-15 from three point range (40.0%), while Emerson was limited to just 30.0% shooting on the afternoon and only 25.0% from downtown.

Fitchburg State (7-0, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action again on Saturday at it travels to Emerson College at 12 p.m. Emerson (3-4, 0-0  GNAC) will host UMass Dartmouth next Wednesday at 7 p.m.