Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (Newton, Massachusetts) - Although leading 35-30 at the midway point, the Mount Ida College women's basketball team surrendered 43 second half points to visiting non-conference foe Fitchburg State University falling 73-59 handing the Mustangs their second straight loss Tuesday evening in Newton, Massachusetts. The Falcons dominated the paint in the second half scoring 26 points underneath the basket and another 16 off Mount Ida turnovers.
The Mustangs were led by senior guard and Captain Evebonee Acosta (Hartford, CT/Bulkeley) recording her first double-double of the season and the only of the contest with 27 points and 12 boards. Acosta would go a perfect 11-11 from the charity stripe and 2-2 from beyond the arc. The only downfall for Acosta was turning the ball over 10 times for the night.
For the visitors, Fitchburg State junior forward Amy Fahey (Wilmington, MA/Wilmington) was impressive notching a game-high 33 points on 13-18 shooting with most of her attempts coming on lay-ins. 23 of Fahey's 33 points came in the second half. She would also add five blocks, six boards and three steals to wrap up a productive evening.
The contest was the hosts' final of the semester heading into the break with an overall record of 4-6 starting back up action on January 5, 2012 against visiting non-league Becker College with tip-off at 3:00 p.m. Fitchburg State will head to Key Largo, Florida to play in an annual holiday tournament the 30th and 31st of December kicking off against Elmira College with game time slated for 7:00 p.m.
Mount Ida started the contest very strong going ahead by a half-high eight points through the first seven minutes leading 20-12 after a successful lay-in by Acosta.
The Falcons took their first lead of the game with 8:41 to go before the break finalizing a 10-0 run up 24-20 after freshman guard Andrea DeSousa (Taunton, MA/Coyle Cassidy) sunk one of two free throws.
The visiting advantage did not last long while FSU watched the Mustangs pour on an 11-2 run to go ahead 33-26 with 2:45 left in the first half following two successful Acosta freebies from the charity stripe. Mount Ida eventually headed into the locker room with a 35-30 lead after a very productive opening stanza of play.
It remained relatively close through the first five minutes of the final stanza with Fitchburg State taking their second lead of the game (46-42) capitalizing on a 14-7 run capped on a successful trifecta from FSU junior guard Laura Cote (Ashby, MA/Saint Bernard's).
From that point the Falcons controlled the entire game as if the Mustangs were out of gas overtaking a 22 point lead. The visitors poured on a 25-4 run from the 15:18 mark all the way to the final three and a half minutes of play in regulation to completely snuff out any though of victory Mount Ida might have had going up 71-49 capped on a Cote lay-in. If the Mustangs hadn't run ice cold through this point in the contest they might have had a chance to claim a win.
The hosts would eventually fall to the Falcons 73-59 for their sixth loss of the season while Fitchburg State collects their third in a row.
Mount Ida sophomore forward Jenn Rafuse (Brockton, MA/Brockton) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds to compliment Acosta's performance while Mustang junior forward Abbey Fedigan (New Fairfield, CT/New Fairfield) tallied 10 points and five boards. Sophomore forward/guard Sierra Legge (Schodack Landing, NY/Maple Hill) dished out eight assisted respectively.
Along with a solid individual offensive performance from Fahey, Fitchburg State was led by 17 points from Cote on 6-11 shooting.
