KEENE, N.H.  1/6/09 - Juniors Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.) and Kristin Degou (Newburyport, Mass.) scored 18 points each to lead the Keene State women's basketball team to a come-from-behind 55-45 victory over Williams College at Spaulding Gym on Tuesday night.

The Owls, who have won four straight, improve to 9-2.  Williams drops to 5-7.

Keene State was fortunate to be down by just five (25-20) at the half. The Owls hit just six of 28 shots from the field (21%), two of 12 behind the arc (17%) and six of 11 from the line (54%). KSC also turned the ball over 15 times.

After Degou hit a jumper to give KSC a 15-10 lead, the Owls went 11:04 without scoring a point.  The Ephs went on 13-0 run during the drought to take a 23-15 lead. 

  The Owls went on a 13-3 run out of the break, going up 33-28 on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Courtney Cirillo (Windsor Locks, Conn.) seven minutes into the half. Cirillo kept several Owl possessions alive. Seven of her nine rebounds were off the offensive glass. Simmler had a team high 11 boards for the Owls who out-rebounded Williams 57-42.

A three-pointer by Degou and a lay-up off an offensive rebound by Simmler gave KSC a 46-38 lead with 4:48 to play.

Senior guard Mika Peterman, who had a game-high 21 points for the Ephs, cut the Owls' lead to five 50-45 with a baseline three-pointer with 1:20 to go.

The Owls sealed the non-conference victory at the line with senior point guard Michele Boudreau (Readsboro, Vt.) and Degou hitting key free throws in the closing minute.

Keene State coach Keith Boucher said his team's defense fueled the comeback.  "I thought our defensive effort was incredible tonight.  They just wouldn't give in," he said.  "This was a gut check game for us.  It was a whole team effort." 

Degou agreed with her coach.  "It was a huge team effort and we had a lot of people step up off the bench," she said.  "People starting hitting their shots and having confidence.  You have to have a short memory.  We kept on pushing and fighting and in the second half our shots started falling for us."

The win snapped a seven game losing streak against the Ephs.  "It's always nice to beat the good teams," said Degou.  "A win like this give you a lot of confidence."

Keene State's home stand continues on Thursday with a non-conference game against Westfield State (7 p.m.).