KEENE, N.H. 2/9/08- Sophomore guard Kristin Degou (Newburyport, Mass.) scored a career high 22 points to lead the Keene State women's basketball team to a come-from-behind 59-46 Little East Conference victory over UMass-Dartmouth at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.

           
Bouncing back after dropping its last three LEC games, Keene State improves to 13-8 (5-5 LEC).  UMass-Dartmouth drops to 5-16 (1-9 LEC).

           
The Owls, who struggled with their shooting throughout the game, found the range late in the second half to pull out the win.

           
"I was just feeling good and when I don't hesitate to shoot they have a better chance of going in," said Degou, who hit a pair of key three-pointers down the stretch.  "Our goal is to win the rest of our LEC games and pick it up going into the tournament."

           
The Corsairs jumped out to an early 13-5 lead on a three-pointer by senior guard Ashley Chard (Burlington, Conn.).

           
A 9-0 Owl run capped off by a lay-up from sophomore guard Alyssa Sapp (Hartford, Vt.) gave KSC a 14:33 lead at the 10:55 mark.  Senior guard Emily Flewelling (Pittsford, Vt.), who got the rare start along with freshman guard Leighanne Wood (Wilmot, N.H.), hit a pair of late three-point shots as Keene State went to the locker room with a 29-22 lead. 

           
The Corsairs opened the second half with a 14-3 run, taking a 34-31 lead on a turnaround jumper by senior forward Lindsay Marsh (Bristol, Conn.).

           
The Owls regained the lead and went up by seven (49-42) on a steal and lay-up by Degou with 4:21 to play.  Minutes later, Dogou hit back-to-back three balls, including one as the 30 second clock wind down, to put KSC up 55-44 with 2:31 to go. 

Sophomore forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.) had eight points and eight rebounds.

Junior forward Vickie Andruszkiewicz (Danvers, Mass.) had 12 points and eight rebounds to lead UMD.  Freshman guard Kate Garabedian (Westerly, R.I.) had 10 points and six rebounds and Marsh finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Keene State has won the last seven meetings between the two teams.

           
Both teams return to action on Tuesday.  Keene State visits rival Plymouth State and UMass-Dartmouth hosts Rhode Island College in 5:30 p.m. contests.