WORCESTER, MASS. 12/31/07 - Alyssa Sapp (Hartford, VT) and Michelle Boudreau (Readsboro, VT) shared game-high scoring honors with 12 points each to help Keene State defeat WPI 52-41 Monday afternoon in the championship game of the eighth annual WPI Invitational presented by Hilton Garden Inn.  With the victory, the Owls up their record to 5-4 while WPI falls to 3-5. 

         
The Keene State players won't have much time to savior their win.  The Owls leave New Year's day morning at 2 a.m. to play a pair of games at the Whittier (Ca.) College's Purple and Gold Poet Classic. KSC will face Bethany Lutheran of Minnesota in an opening-round game on Friday.  Whittier goes up against Goucher (Md.) College in the other first -round game.  Consolation and championships games will be played on Saturday. 

         
"The win is going to make the trip out to California more relaxing and enjoyable." said KSC Coach Keith Boucher.  "Hopefully the players will get some sleep."

"We're excited about going, but a little concern about the trip," said senior captain Danielle Gravely.  "No one on the team enjoy flying.  The hardest part of the trip will be getting there." 

The Owls were making their first appearance in the WPI tournament. In a back and forth first half that featured eight ties, Keene State used a 6-0 spurt in the final 1:10 to take a 26-20 lead into the locker room at the break.  Free throws played a key role in the first half as the Owls drained 8-of-10 tries while WPI connected on just 1-of-5 attempts.

WPI scored the first four points of the second stanza to get within two (26-24). However, the Owls strung together 11 of the next 13 points to take an 11-point lead (37-26) at 14:03. After a three-point basket from Gravely (Schenectady, NY) gave KSC a 43-34 lead, the visitors turned to their defense.  They held WPI scoreless for a 9:29 span late in the second half.  Tournament MVP Nicole Simmler (Oxford, MA) anchored the Owl defensive effort with a game-high five steals.  Keene State also won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding the Engineers by a 49-33 margin.  Jen Cleaveland (Newington, CT) paced all players with 11 rebounds on the day.

Boucher described the game as a grinder.  "Our defense was the difference," he said.  "We showed a lot of mental toughness."

         
The Engineers final run got them to with four with 1:26 remaining on a conventional three-point play by Serena Dubois (Bangor, ME) followed by a lay-up from Caitlin Macko (Cromwell, CT).  The Owls put the game away by connecting on 9-of-12 free throws over the last 1:24.

Dubois and Kate Maki (Fitchburg, MA) both netted nine points for the Engineers while Macko contributed seven points off the bench.  Dubois and Macko each dished out a game-best three assists.

Joining Simmler on the All-Tournament team was her teammate Sapp, Dubois and Maki of WPI, Angie Owens (Seaford, DE) of Wesley and Christina Sancinito (Wakefield, MA) of Curry.  Earlier in the day, Wesley knocked off Curry 70-55 in the consolation game.

        
With associate head coach Kate Fillion and assistant Ryan Margaitis unable to make the trip due to teacher responsibilities, Boucher has recruited Sara Linn, a former player and assistant coach to accompany the team out to California.  The trip itinerary includes a visit to the Jimmy Kimmel Live television show.