Cougars Claw Past Falcons in Non-Conference Match-Up

Worcester, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State Women's Basketball team fell to the Cougars of Clark University 91-51 in a non-conference match-up on Wednesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 51, Clark University 91
Records: Fitchburg State (1-2) | Clark (2-1)

How It Happened

1st Quarter

Clark raced out to an 8-0 lead before the Falcons could answer with three points from sophomore Ephemian Bailey (Maple Grove, Minn.) and a trey from newcomer Aliza Som (Lowell, Mass) to make it a 12-6 ball game. The Cougars countered with eight unanswered points capped by a layup from Alaina Schatzabel (Kennebunk, Maine) to extend the lead. Stephanie Hart (Shirley, Mass.) closed out the frame with a pair of free throws for the Falcons.

2nd Quarter

The Green and Gold won the second quarter outscoring the Cougars 20-14. Trailing 29-13, freshman Juliana Davis (Templeton, Mass.) drained a three-pointer and hit a jumper, followed by a deep bucket from beyond-the-arc from Morgan Genness (Belgrade, Maine) to spark the Falcons' offense. Fitchburg State capitalized on being in the bonus and added free throws from Som and Caileen Hurley (Whitman, Mass.) to trail 39-30 heading into halftime.

3rd Quarter

The teams traded baskets to open the third, and four points from Davis kept the score close (45-34). However, Clark went on an 11-2, including a three-point play from Schatzabel to extend the lead to 56-36. Sophomore Delaney Brown (Billerica, Mass.) hit a jumper from the elbow, and junior Olivia Almeida (Wilmington, Mass.) drained a 3-point shot to close the gap (64-43).

4th Quarter

The Falcon continued to battle as Almeida hit a jumper and sophomore Rylie Harlow (Hanson, Mass.) added a layup to cut the lead to 76-47, but Clark closed out the game with four points each from Julia Beebe (Andover, Conn.) and Sarah Zambrano (San Francisco, Calif.), resulting in the 91-51 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Davis paced the Falcons with 14 points, three steals, a block, and three rebounds; Almeida finished with 8 points and a team-high seven rebounds
• For the Cougars, Schatzabel led the way with a game-high 33 points, 23 rebounds, 5 steals, and three assists
• Clark shot 34-for-82 (41.5%) from the field and (2-for-14) 14.3% from three-point range
• Fitchburg State finished 16-for-57 (28.1%) overall and (5-for-18) 27.8% for beyond the arc
• Clark held a 57-38 advantage on the boards 

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday when they travel to Wesleyan to face the Cardinals at 5:00 PM in the Wesleyan Tipp-Off.