DANBURY, Conn. - The Keene State College women's basketball team kept its hopes alive for a chance at the Little East Conference regular-season title with a convincing 72-57 victory over Western Connecticut State University at Feldman Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Owls, now 17-5 overall and 10-2 in the league, sit in second place behind University of Southern Maine (12-0 and winners over Rhode Island College on Saturday) with two games remaining. The two teams meet in the season finale next Saturday in Keene, NH.
The 17 wins ties the program high in Division III for KSC. The Owls also won 17games in the 2001-02 and 2004-05 seasons. The 10 wins in the LEC sets a new bench-mark for the team. They had nine victories in 1999-00 and the past two years. "We're finding ways to win games right now," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher. "Several of our young players are no longer playing like freshmen. They've taken advantage of playing time, learned valuable lessons and making contributions.
Sarah Begnoche (Millville, MA) led Keene State with 19 points on 9 of 16 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down six rebounds and had three steals on Saturday. Freshman Kristin Degou (Newburyport, MA) added 16 points and five assists for the winners.
WCSU cut the Owls lead down to two points, but KSC scored in its last five possessions of the half to go up 36-24 at the break. The Owls would not let their lead get bellow 11 points the rest of the way. "That 10-0 run was huge for us, " said Boucher. "Kristin came though with a couple of big hoops and that gave us some breathing room going into the second half."
The Colonials, now 13-10 overall and 5-7 in the LEC, were led by Stacey Roberts (Windham, CT) who had 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Colleen Smith (Lebanon, CT) and Ally Greenwood (East Hartford, CT) added 12 points apiece for WestConn. Greenwood had a game-high six assists in the loss.
WestConn travels to arch-rival Eastern Connecticut on Tuesday, February 13 for a 5:30 p.m. tip. Keene State hosts intra-state rival Plymouth State on Tuesday.
(Courtesy Western Connecticut Sports Information)
