KEENE, N.H. 2/16/08- Western Conn. State University over came a 14 point halftime deficit to post a come-from- behind 63-55 Little East Conference women's basketball victory over Keene State at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.
 

Fighting to hold onto the fourth spot and a home game in the LEC tournament, Keene State drops to 14-9 (6-6 LEC).  Winners of seven of its last eight games, Western Conn.  (18-4, 10-2 LEC) maintains its hold on second place in the LEC.
 

Junior forward Jenn Kinney (Salem, N.H.) had a career high 17 points in a losing effort for the Owls. Sophomore forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.) finished with 11 points and six rebounds.  Sophomore forward Jen Cleaveland (Newington, Conn.) pulled down a game high 10 rebounds.
 

Junior forward Stacey Roberts (Windham, Conn.) had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Western.  Senior guard Ally Greenwood (East Hartford, Conn.) scored 13 points and freshman guard Karli Spera (Waterford, Conn.) chipped in with 10 points.
 

The Owls flew out to an early lead, building a 21-9 lead on a baseline jumper by Kinney midway in the first half. 
 

The Colonials cut the lead to six (23-17) on a basket by Spera with 5:42 to play.
 

Keene State outscored WCSU 13-5 the rest of the way with sophomore Alyssa Sapp (Hartford, Vt.) stealing the ball and going in for lay-up at the buzzer to give the Owls a 36-22 halftime lead. KSC, which played a strong defensive first half, also shot 54% from the field (15-28).
 

A 9-0 Colonials spurt, capped off by a three-pointer by Spera cut the Owls lead to three points (40-37) at the 13:19 mark. WCSU tied the score on its next possession, a top of the key three-ball by Roberts.   Sophomore guard Rebecca McGee (Niskayuna, N.Y.) gave the Colonels their first lead 43-42 with a corner three-pointer at the 11:01 mark.  
 

The Owls hurt themselves with several turnovers and missed free throws down the stretch. 
 

Greenwood found sophomore forward Katie Moffo (Southington, Conn.) inside to put Western up 58-54 with 2:03 to play.  After a free throw by Kinney, Moffo drained a three-pointer to make it 61-55 with 1:35 to go.
 

KSC, held to just 19 second half points, was held scoreless the rest of the way. The Owls hit just two of 19 shots behind the arc.
 

Western shot 46% in the second half (13-28) and turned the ball over just three times.  
 

Western swept the season series, winning 51-33 earlier in the season at Danbury.

Both teams return to action on Tuesday.  Keene State hosts Eastern Conn. and UMass-Dartmouth travels to Rhode Island College for 5:30 p.m. contests.