KEENE, N.H. 12/8/07 - The Keene State women's
basketball team overcame an 11-point halftime deficit on the way to
posting its first Little East Conference win of the season, a
65-51 victory over Rhode Island College at Spaulding Gym on
Saturday.
Sophomore forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.) finished with a
double-double career high 16 points and 13 rebounds, sophomore
guard Kristin Degou (Newburyport, Mass.) had 14 points, and senior
guard Danielle Graveley (Schenectady, N.Y.) added 13 points to help
the Owls (3-4, 1-1 LEC) snap their four game losing streak.
Junior guard Michele Boudreau (Readsboro, Vt.) had eight asssits to
go with six points.
Keene State's shooting woes continued in the first half as they
fell behind 20-11 at the break. The Owls, who went nine
minutes without scoring a point, shot four for 25 from the field
(16%), one for 10 in three-points (10%), and two for five (40%)
from the line.
The Owls turned up the defensive pressure and began to knock down
their three-point shots in the second half. After the Owls
tied the score at 25-all on a pair of free throws, by Simmler, KSC
went on a 17-4 run to go up 42-29 at the 10:58 mark.
Graveley ignited the run with three three-pointers.
Simmler also contributed five points.
A lay-up by junior forward Jenn Kinney (Salem, N.H.) and another
three-pointer by sophomore guard Alyssa Sapp (Hartford, Vt.) gave
KSC a 49-34 lead with 6:52 to play.
"We changed our offense in the second half and did a better
job coming off screens," said Simmler. Once our shots began
to fall, we got more confidence."
"I was held scoreless my last two games, so I knew I had to come
out and play well," said Graveley. "It was a huge LEC win for
us. Now we can have a Merry Christmas."
In the second half, KSC shot 50% from the field (15-30), 67% from
behind the arc (8-12), and 16-19 ((84%) from the line on the way to
scoring 54 points.
Senior guard Sarah Coughlin (North Attleboro, Mass.) had a game
high 19 points to go with nine rebounds for the Anchorwomen (5-3,
1-1 LEC). Sophomore forward Jennifer Knott (Narragansett,
R.I.) finished with 10 points.
The Owls return to action on Sun. - Mon, Dec. 30-31 at the WPI
Tournament. RIC hosts Wesleyan on Tuesday (7 p.m.).
