FITCHBURG, Mass. -- First-year guard Alex Twomey poured in a game-high 22 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, as the Mount Holyoke College basketball team made it a close game toward the end of a 58-49 defeat at Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon.

Twomey (Nutley, N.J.) scored the most points by a Lyon in three seasons, since Ellie Hayward scored 23 points against Coast Guard on Jan. 29, 2020.

Mount Holyoke (0-2) trailed the Falcons (1-1) by 21 points after three quarters, at 49-28, but outscored the hosts 21-9 in the final period. Twomey had a steal and a three-point play by with 6:54 left in the game, followed by a four-point play with 2:22 remaining, and an offensive putback in the closing seconds to cut the deficit into single digits.

Twomey also had eight rebounds, six steals and three assists. She shot 9-of-19 from the field and 3-for-4 at the free-throw line.

Junior Nicole Lutalo (Kampala, Uganda) led Mount Holyoke to a 47-43 advantage on the boards with a game-high nine rebounds. Junior Isabel Cordes (Yorktown, Va.) and sophomore Katie Rha (Douglaston, N.Y.) added five rebounds apiece.

Fitchburg State got 32 points from its bench, including a team-high 16 points from Aliza Som and 10 from Allison Prentis.

Mount Holyoke (.351) shot better from the floor than Fitchburg State (.338), but the Lyons committed 36 turnovers to the Falcons' 27.

Mount Holyoke plays its home opener Wednesday at 7pm against Elms College.