Women's Basketball tripped up at home by hot shooting Falcons 81-76

North Adams, MA- Mikaela Mitchell scored 16 of her team high 21 points in the second half to rally the Fitchburg State women's basketball team past the MCLA Trailblazers 81-76 this evening in MASCAC action.  The win for the Falcons was the first in the league as they improve to 7-15 overall and are now 1-8 in the conference.

MCLA drops to 6-16 overall and is 2-8 in the MASCAC.

Mitchell connected on 5-7 shots from beyond the arc as the Falcons shot a solid 44% from three point land (14-32).  Angelina Marazzi notched 18 points while Emma Thomson added 13 points, 12 of which came in the opening half of play.  Michaela McTomney collected 13 points, but pulled down 17 rebounds for the Falcons.

MCLA led throughout the entire first half and took a 42-34 lead into the locker room.  The Falcons however, came out storming in the second half and chipped away at the Trailblazer lead behind big second half performances from Mitchell and Marazzi.  The duo combined for 29 second half points.  The Falcons finally tied the game at 51 all on a jumper from Payton Holmes with 3:24 left in the third quarter. 

MCLA regained the lead and eventually took a 57-56 lead into the home quarter, but the Falcons kept coming at the Trailblazers.  A McTomney putback to start the quarter put them in front for good and ignited a 12-0 spurt to turn the deficit into a 68-57 lead with seven minutes remaining.  Mitchell canned a pair of three's in the run to lead the charge.

The Trailblazers tried to rally over the final minutes and closed to within four at 77-73 on Kylah Langston's steal and bucket with 1:32 left to play.  The Falcons ran some clock and Mitchell was eventually fouled.  She made the first and then McTomney notched another offensive board on the second keeping possession with the Falcons.  With MCLA forced to foul, the Falcons converted three of four FT's in the final thirty seconds to preserve the win as MCLA had trouble scoring.

The Falcons owned a commanding 46-33 rebounding edge thanks to McTomney's efforts.  They overcame 16 turnovers to secure the win.

MCLA was paced by Courtney Pingelski and Sam Gawron's 23 points each.  Gawron's total is a career high as she went 9-20 from the floor.  Pingelski ended with 7 rebounds and was 8-10 from the floor.  Kylah Langston added 17 points in the loss for MCLA.

The Trailblazers shot a torrid 56% in the opening quarter, but ultimately struggled down the stretch and ended at 44%.  They committed 13 turnovers in the loss.

MCLA is off until next Wednesday when they head to Salem State.