'KEENE, N.H.  2/1/03  –  The Keene State College women's basketball team came up short in its upset bid over Little East Conference front-runner Southern ME with a 65-60 loss on Saturday at Spaulding Gym.

Senior forward Hayley Alaimo (Ellington, CT) had 20 points, including six three-pointers to lead the Owls.  Freshman forward Stacey Morse (Lebanon, N.H.) added 10 points while senior forward Julie Tardif (Atkinson, N.H.) and junior forward Andrea Arsenault (Dover, N.H.) finished with a team-high nine rebounds each.

Freshman Tiffany Jones (Skowhegan, Me.), who hit 11 of 13 free throw attempts, led USM with a game-high 30 points.

It was the second straight LEC loss for KSC (12-7, 4-5 LEC).  Ranked 15th nationally, Southern ME (16-3, 8-1) maintains its lead in the LEC standings.

Leading by as many as 12 points (21-9) early in the game, KSC had to settle for a 34-28 halftime lead. The Owls led by 12 again (42-30) early in the second half, but were unable to hold off the Huskies.  After a three-pointer and two free throws by Jones game USM the lead for good (60-58) with 3:52 to play.

After a drive by Brittany Faulkner (Lebanon, N.H.) made it 63-60, KSC had a couple of opportunities to tie the score by three-pointers by Bekka Hopkins (Oxford, MA.) and Tardif were off the mark.

Keene State has yet to defeat Southern ME in LEC play. Since joining the LEC in the 1997-98 season, KSC has lost 11 straight games to the Huskies.

Keene State hosts Williams College on Tuesday (5:30 p.m).

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