FITCHBURG, Mass. - The Bridgewater State College women's basketball team dropped a 49-41 decision to Fitchburg State College on Saturday afternoon in a key MASCAC contest held at the Recreation Center in Fitchburg.
Senior forward Diana Doyle (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the host Falcons.
The game was tied at halftime, 22-22, but the Falcons outscored the Bears 27-19 in the final half to improve to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in the MASCAC while BSC suffered its first conference loss to land at 5-1 in the MASCAC and 14-4 overall.
Freshman guard Kelley Rogers (Lowell, MA/Lowell) dropped in eight of her 11 points in the second half, including a pair of three-pointers during a 14-6 run in the opening minutes of the second half that turned a 24-22 Bridgewater lead into a 36-28 Falcon lead. The cushion would swell to as many as 11 after a pair of Steph Payette (Townsend, MA/North Middlesex) free throws with 4:50 remaining in regulation.
Sisters Caitlin Feeney (Providence, RI/LaSalle Academy) and Colleen Feeney (Providence, RI/LaSalle Academy) led the visitors with 12 and 11 points, respectively, but both players had three fouls at halftime. Colleen Feeney picked up her fourth foul with 12:39 to play and fouled out in the closing moments of the game.
The Fitchburg lead never dropped below six points in the final 10 minutes of regulation thanks to Doyle, Rogers and Kari Averill (Barre, VT/Spaulding), who dropped in 10 points to go along with three rebounds (all offensive) and two assists. Sophomore point guard Krystle O'Brien (Malden, MA/Malden) did not score but she grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists and came away with four steals in 27 minutes for the victors.
Bridgewater State missed point guard Melissa Murphy (Rockland, MA/Rockland), who missed the majority of the second half after getting injured. She finished with five points, six rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes.
The Falcons are back in action Tuesday night (6:00 pm) at Worcester State while the Bears host Westfield State that same night.