WESTFIELD 1/10/08- Junior guard Michelle Boudreau scored a season-high 20 points to lead Keene State to a 69-55 victory over Westfield State in a non-conference women's basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 10.

Keene State, which extended its wining streak to six games,improved to 8-4; Westfield falls to 5-7.

The Keene State Owls had three key scoring runs to hold off the pesky Owls of Westfield State, who were unable to overcome double-digits deficits at the start of both halves.

Keene made six of its first seven shots to jump out to a 12-0 lead in the opening three minutes.  And Westfield fell behind by 16 points,21-5, at the 10-minute mark. But the home team regrouped, outscoring Keene 20-9 to trail at halftime, 30-25.

Keene also got off to a fast start in the second half. After Westfield closed to within three, 30-27, Keene went on a 15-2 scoring spurt for its biggest second-half lead, 45-29, with 14:36 remaining.

Westfield cut the lead to five points twice in the second half, and trailed 58-53 with 4:33 remaining. But Keene closed the game with an 11-2 run, as Westfield did not score a field goal in the game's final5:36.

Free throw shooting was a key factor. Keene converted 15 of 19 from the charity stripe; Westfield only 5 of 13. In addition, Westfield was 6 for 26 from 3-point range; Keene 10 for 22.

Sophomore forward Nicole Simmler of Oxford scored 12 points for the victors. Boudreau - a 5-2 point guard - also had game highs of five assists and three steals.

Lauren Sylvain came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points for Westfield. Her twin sister Katie Sylvain had 10 points.  Westfield leading scorer Andrea Wasuk only played 12 minutes because of foul trouble and finished with eight points. Sophomore forward Molly Brogan had seven points and nine rebounds.

Keene State returns to Little East play on Saturday when it travels to UMass-Dartmouth.