Fitchburg State Remains Unbeaten At Nichols, 69-49

Fahey notches second consecutive 30+ point performance with a game-high 34

DUDLEY, Mass. (November 28, 2011) – Fitchburg State sophomore forward Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) scored 34 points to lead the Falcons to a 69-49 non-conference victory at Nichols Monday evening.

Fahey hit 12-of-13 shots from the free-throw line and added ten rebounds to join senior forward Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) with a double-double. Goreham scored six of her 14 points at the line on perfect shooting and added a game-high 14 rebounds.

Nichols sophomore guard Kasey Pelletier (Dunstable, Mass.) paced the Bison with 13 points and five assists, while Natalie Wilson (Bedford, N.H.) added 11 points on the evening.

Fitchburg State used a dominant transition game to lead, 32-27, at the break. Fahey scored 18 of her 34 points in the opening half, picking up eight points at the line on a perfect shooting effort.

Nichols chipped away at an eight-point Falcons' lead midway through the opening stanza, holding Fitchburg State without a basket for almost five minutes while tying it up at 18-18 on a Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) layup at the seven-minute mark. The momentum then swung the other way as the Falcons kept the Bison out of the hoop for a four-minute span. Goreham capped the run with a jumper under the basket to make it a nine-point advantage for the visitors.

Fitchburg State steadily built onto its lead in the second half, capitalizing on nine Bison turnovers in the stanza to put 20 points on the board. A Fahey fast break layup gave the Falcons their first double-digit lead of the night four minutes into the frame, and later sparked a 13-2 run that saw Fitchburg State claim its largest lead of the night at 21 points.

The Falcons out-rebounded the Bison by a 48-38 margin, scoring 11 second-chance points on 15 offensive boards and 18 fast-break points on 33 defensive rebounds. Though Fitchburg State had 23 turnovers to the Bison's 26, Nichols only parlayed them into five points while Fitchburg State converted 28.

Fitchburg State (5-0, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action again on Thursday at it travels to Simmons College at 7 p.m. Nichols (0-3, 0-0 TCCC) opens up Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Wednesday in a 5:30 p.m. home game against Curry.