Women's College Basketball         

SATURDAY, February 16, 2013

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior forward Amy Fahey led a balanced attack with game highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead Fitchburg State University to a 75-71 upset victory over Westfield State University on Saturday, Feb. 16.

The setback spoiled Senior Day for the Owls, who are 16-9 overall and 8-4 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. Third place Westfield will host a conference tournament game next Tuesday. Fitchburg is 11-13 overall and 4-8 in the MASCAC.

Five players scored in double figures for the Falcons, led by the athletic Fahey, who also had four assists and three blocks despite playing the final 13:34 with four fouls. Fahey only made five field goals but she was 12 for 17 from the foul line.

Fitchburg only shot 36 percent from the field, but the Falcons were 10 for 27 from 3-point range. In the first half, Fitchburg tallied 70 percent (7 for 17) of its points from beyond the arc as but it still trailed 31-30 at halftime.

Westfield jumped out to an early 7-0 lead as all three seniors – Angela Paterson, Briana Kelly, Jenny Bell – registered field goals, including a Paterson 3-pointer that forced a Fitchburg timeout.

But an inconsistent Owl offense and the Falcons' 3-point shooting led to a 26-19 Fitchburg lead with 5:15 remaining in the first half. Westfield regrouped to lead at the intermission, 31-30, with a 12-4 scoring run led by five points from freshman guard Keri Doldoorian and a traditional 3-point play by Kelly.

The Owls appeared on the verge of pulling away early in the second half when they took a 40-33 lead, but the scrappy Falcons did not fold and quickly cut the deficit to a point, 40-39.

Westfield's biggest lead in the second half was eight points, 50-42, with 13:34 remaining when Doldoorian canned three free throws after Fahey fouled her in the act of shooting beyond the arc.

But the Falcons responded again, this time with a 12-0 run to take a 54-50 lead with 9:22 remaining. Laure Cote led the key scoring spurt with five points and an assist.

Westfield took its final lead, 59-56, with 5:59 remaining following two layups by the hustling Bell.

Cote countered with a layup and Andrea DeSousa drained a 3-pointer following a steal to give the Falcons the lead for good, 61-59, with 5:16 remaining.

The Owls pulled within a point twice on Kelly layups, the last coming with 1:00 remaining and Fitchburg ahead, 70-69. The Falcons made five free throws in the final minute for the upset victory.

Also scoring in double figures were Megan Wodzinski (14), DeSousa (11), Cote (10), and Kelsey Johnston (10).

Bell had a career game with team highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds; the senior guard from Northampton also finished with four assists and a game-high four steals.

Sophomore center Gabby Felix posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Doldoorian scored 14 points.