Women's Hoops Edges Fitchburg State 45-41

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State Women's Basketball team took on Lasell College in a non-conference bout this afternoon at the Parkinson Gymnasium, with the Falcons dropping a 45-41 decision to the Lasers.

STAT LEADERS FOR LASELL

• Senior guard Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.) finished with a double-double, leading all scorers with 23 points, to go along with ten caroms, two assists and steals, and a block.

STAT LEADERS FOR FITCHBURG

• For Fitchburg State, Guglielmello had a team-high 15 points, while picking up six rebounds. McTomney was also a big contributor for the Falcons, who along with six points, pulled in a game-high 16 boards and four blocks.
  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lasell opened the scoring 43 seconds into the contest with a layup by sophomore guard Morgan Church, with the Falcons responding with a layup by fellow sophomore Michaela McTomney. The Lasers answered with a 10-0 run, with Stopera registering four points on the six-minute run.
• Fitchburg State answered with layups from freshman guard Samantha Holey and senior forward Erika Schneider, while the visitors responded with free throws from freshman guard Taylor Hughey and four points from Church, closing the first quarter with an 18-6 lead. 
• The defense held strong in the opening minutes of the second quarter, with the first basket coming from Falcon junior guard Melissa Guglielmello two-and-a-half minutes into the frame. Lasell needed another two minutes to respond, with senior guard Rebeka Costa putting home a fast break layup to bring the score to 20-8.
• The Green and Gold climbed back into the contest with ten points in a row, using a layup and a free throw by Schneider, along with seven straight points by Guglielmello. The Lasers could only answer with four free throws, while another layup from Guglielmello and a buzzer-beating shot by Schneider concluded the first half with the Falcons trailing 24-22.
• Like she did in the first half, McTomney opened the scoring for Fitchburg State in the second half with a layup, tying the score at 24-24. The Blue and White countered with layups from Stopera and sophomore forward Brianna Hoffman, regaining the lead at 28-24.
• A layup on the other end from senior forward Stephanie Leveillee and a long jumper from freshman guard Hannah Keohan re-tied the game at 28-28. After taking a 31-29 lead on free throws, the Lasers nailed the first three-pointers of the contest, with Stopera and Hoffman connecting to give their team a 37-29 advantage through three quarters of play.
• Guglielmello opened up the fourth quarter with two jumpers to close the deficit to 37-33. Stopera answered with another three to stretch the Laser advantage to 40-33. The teams traded buckets over the next six minutes, before Leveillee and McTomney struck to close the gap to four points. Strong defense on both sides prevented either team from scoring over the final 1:44, resulting in the 45-41.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 51-40 advantage in rebounds, while Lasell held the advantage in the turnover battle, forcing 25 turnovers to the Falcons 17. From the field, the Green and Gold shot 19-for-60 (31.7%), while going 3-of-8 (37.5%) from the line. The Lasers finished the contest shooting 13-for-56 (23.2%) in addition to going 15-for-24 (57.7%) from the line.

WHAT'S NEXT

• Both teams will return to action on Tuesday, December 8^th. Fitchburg State (0-10; 0-0 MASCAC) will close out the first semester by hosting WPI in a non-conference game at 7:00 p.m, while Lasell College (4-4; 0-0 GNAC) will travel up to New Hampshire to take on Plymouth State at 6:00 p.m.

Recap Content Courtesty of Fitchburg State Sports Information