MCLA earns key road victory at Fitchburg 63-61

Fitchburg, MA-  Senior forward Jade Prickett had a season high 17 points, including the game winning bucket with just over 20 seconds remaining, giving MCLA a key road victory at Fitchburg 63-61.  The win moves MCLA to 2-3 in the MASCAC and 12-4 overall.

Prickett lifted the MCLA offense while freshman Lucy Tremblay (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) was also strong for the Trailblazers with 15 points and five boards.  Trailblazer teammates sophomore Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown) and junior Molly Broda (Southampton, Mass./Holyoke) added seven

Fitchburg junior Melissa Proffitt led all Falcon scorers with 15 points and ten boards as the junior forward hit 5-of-15 shots from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) continued to add to her stellar season with 14 points and six rebounds, while senior Kari Averill (Barre, Vt./Spaulding), junior Molly Maloney (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) and classmate Kelley Rogers (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) each netted eight.

The game was a close knit affair with 19 lead changes and 13 ties throughout the contest. After Fitchburg State opened the contest with an electric 8-2 run, neither team lead by more than four as MCLA grabbed a two point margin at the break. Prickett led all first half scorers with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, while Goreham collected eight for the Falcons

Fitchburg State received a sudden burst of offense to open the second half as the Falcons strung together an 11-4 run over the first six minutes to gain a three point advantage, 40-37. The surge was short-lived however as the Trailblazers answered the Falcons rally with five unanswered points at the 8:23 mark capped by Broda trey.

Both teams battled down the stretch with no lead growing bigger than three over the final 9:40. Trailing by three with 2:41 left in the contest, Fitchburg State responded as Goreham connected twice with a layup and free-throw to knot the score at 61-61. Moments later, Prickett sealed the Trailblazers' victory with jumper on the baseline with only 24 seconds to spare.

Fitchburg State (8-9, 2-3 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it travels to Westfield State at 5:30 p.m. MCLA (12-4, 2-3 MASCAC) will host Bridgewater State on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.