NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. 1/22/05- Bri Barnes (Merrimack, N.H.) had 16 points, including several key free throws down the stretch, to lead Keene State College to a 69-66 overtime victory over UMass-Dartmouth in a Little East Conference women's basketball game played Saturday at the Tripp Athletic Center.

Trailing by five (55-50) with 3:30 to play in regulation, the Owls took the lead on back-to-back three-point baskets by Barnes and Cathy Mechare (Falls Village, Conn.). The game, which featured eight ties and eight lead changes, was tied 60-all at the end of regulation.

KSC took a three-point lead (69-66) on a pair of free throws by Barnes with 12 seconds to play in the overtime. The owls preserved their lead with a strong defensive stand. Casey Ridge had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but her off-balance three-pointer was off the mark.

"The key to the game was our defense," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher. "We didn't shoot particularly well, but to our credit, we never stopped playing defense. A win like this could be a character builder for us."

Sarah Begnoche (Millville, Mass.) had 11 points and eight rebounds and Stacey Morse (Lebanon, N.H.) finished with 10 points. Freshman Danielle Gravely (Schenectady, N.Y.) also came off the bench to contribute nine points and seven rebounds.

Kerri Augenstein (East Greenwich, Conn.) had a game high 19 points and nine rebounds to lead UMD (8-8, 1-6 LEC). Ashley Chard finished with 17 points and Lisa Satkevich added 13 points for the Corsairs.

Winners of three of their last four games, KSC improves to 11-5 and 5-2 in the LEC. Earlier this season, Keene State defeated UMD 90-53.

KSC is scheduled to play at Eastern Conn. on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.). The game could be postponed due to the death of ECSU men's player Antwoine Key.