'BOSTON, MA.  12/7/02 – The Keene State College women's basketball team lost to UMA-Boston 72-64 at the Clark Athletic Center in Boston on Saturday.  It was the Little East Conference opener for both teams.

Four players scored in double figures for KSC (4-3, 0-1 LEC).  Julie Tardif (Atkinson, N.H.) had a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, Hayley Alaimo (Ellington, CT) added 13 points, while freshmen Mary Crawford (Mt. Holly, Vt.) and Stacey Morse (Lebanon, N.H.) finished with 12 and 10 points respectively.

The Owls fell behind 41-32 at halftime but closed the gap to five points twice during the second half.  After UMB took its biggest lead of the game 55-36, Keene State came back with a 22-8 burst to cut the lead to 63-58 with 6:35 to play. Tardif led the comeback with nine points.

KSC had trouble matching up with the taller Beacons, who out rebounded them by a 60-37 margin. "I though we showed a lot of character coming back, but they're a very physical team," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher.  "We could never get the big shot or the big rebound when we needed it."

Felicia Haynes came off the bench to net a career high 30 points and pull down 15 rebounds, Jamila Gales finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds and Andreen Gilpin gabbed a team-high 17 rebounds to lead UMB.

Keene State hosts Roger Williams University on Thursday in a 6 p.m. game at Spaulding Gym.

                                         -30-