Fitchburg 55, WPI 47 

Worcester, MA--- Fitchburg State rallied from an eight-point second half deficit to defeat host WPI 55-47 in non-conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons, winners of five straight, are now 5-1 on the young season while WPI drops to 3-2.

Fitchburg jumped out of the gate quickly, scoring the first 11 points of the game. Senior Dyane Delpero (Peabody, MA) scored all 14 of her game-high points in the first stanza, including a trio of three-pointers in the first three minutes.

WPI regrouped and used a 24-7 run spanning the final seven minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second. The Falcons quickly answered with nine straight points and took the lead for good when Diana Doyle (Springfield, MA) converted a conventional three-point play with just over seven minutes remaining.

Michelle Perry (Pelham, NH) paced WPI with a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds. Emily Allietta (Sandwich, MA) added nine points while Meghan Pajonas (Bristol, CT) and Kaileen Selen (Worcester, MA) each tallied seven. Pajonas collected six rebounds as the Engineers enjoyed a 39-30 advantage on the glass.

Jen Fontaine (Dracut, MA) and Steph Payette (Townsend, MA) both registered eight points for the Falcons while Doyle, Krystle O'Brien (Malden, MA) and Merry Donavan (Milton, MA) all chipped in with seven. Defense was the key for the Falcons as they forced 24 turnovers on the afternoon.

WPI returns to the court on Sunday when they play host to Rensselaer in a 2pm contest. Fitchburg State closes out a three game road swing with a match-up on Thursday at Western New England College at 5:30pm.