Fitchburg State Stops Western New England, 52-44

Proffitt collects second double-double of season in non-conference win

MELISSA PROFFITT

FITCHBURG, Mass. (December 8, 2009) - Junior Melissa Proffitt (Hubbardston, Mass./Quabbin Regional) collected her second double-double of the season, leading the Fitchburg State women's basketball team to a 52-44 non-conference victory over Western New England College this evening.

Proffitt led the Falcons to its third victory of the season, shooting 6-of-14 from the field (.429 pct) for 13 points, 11 boards and three blocks, while classmate Kelley Rogers (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) led all scorers with a game-high 15. Sophomore Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) continued to control the paint for Fitchburg State, turning in an 11 rebound effort, while senior Caitlin Powers (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) notched a  team-best ten points (4-of-9) and eight rebounds for Western New England.

Fitchburg State grabbed its largest lead of the contest (10) early in the first half as the Falcons rode the inside play of Proffitt and outside shooting of Kim Duprey (Bernardston, Mass./Pioneer Valley), but Western New England responded with a 20-9 run over the final ten minutes to grab a one point lead at the break. Senior Kaliah Al-Darraji (Dover, N.H./Dover) led the Golden Bear comeback with six points and six rebounds, while Sarah Proper (Coxsackie, N.Y./Coxsackie) tallied five points and nine boards in the run.

In the second half, the lead changed three times with four ties before the Fitchburg State offense took over. With the score knotted 36-36 at 10:09 mark, Fitchburg State strung together a 12-4 run over the next six minutes to notch an eight point margin (48-40). Rogers led the Falcons second half explosion with 13 points, shooting 3-of-5 from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe, while Duprey netted five.

Western New England crept back into the contest moments on a pair of Emily Savino (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) free-throws, but the Falcons sealed their victory down the stretch, converting four free-throws over the final 39 seconds of regulation.    

Fitchburg State (3-4, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action again on Thursday as it hosts Fisher College at 7:30 p.m. Western New England (3-3, 0-0 TCCC) will travel to Mount Ida on Thursday at 6 p.m.

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Fitchburg State 52, Western New England 44