KEENE, N.H. 1/30/10 - Senior forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.) scored a career high 26 points, and added seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Keene State College women's basketball team to a 69-62 Little East Conference victory over the University of Southern Maine at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.

            The Owls, who notch just their third win over USM in LEC play, improve to 13-6 and 5-4 in the LEC.  The Huskies, playing without injured starting point guard Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Me.) drop to 13-6 (5-4 LEC).

 "We got an early lead and then we tried to give it away with fouls and turnovers, but the kids dug in and I'm proud of them today." said KSC Coach Keith Boucher. "I just hope we can take the last two efforts we've had and continue to play like this."

         "Our first couple of shots fell for us and our confidence goes up," said Simmler.  "You feel awesome when you beat a team like Southern Maine."

                  The Owls picked up where they left off in Thursday's win over Middlebury, hitting 15 of its 26 shots from the field (58%) and nine of its 12 shots from behind the arc, on the way to jumping out to a 41-29 halftime lead.  A 14-0 run, that included eight points by Simmler, put KSC up 38-16 at the 5:09 mark.

            KSC hit a cold spell at the end of the half as the Huskies scored the last eight points before the break. KSC also turned in a solid defensive performance in the half with sophomore guard Meghan Farrell (Chester, Vt.) getting four blocks.

            Senior guard Kristin Degou (Newburyport, Mass.), who hit all five of her three-point attempts, scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half.  Simmler finished the half with 15 points

            Junior guard Kaylie DeMillo (Jay, Me.) had eight first half point for USM.

            The Owls kept up their strong play in the second half, scoring the first nine points after intermission to go up 50-29 on a three-pointer by senior guard Alyssa Sapp (Hartford, Vt.).

            Hot shooting by freshman forward Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) got USM back into the game.  USM went on a 10-run, capped by a top of the key three-pointer by Leighton to cut the Owls lead to five points (57-52) with 8:23 to play.  Senior forward Haley Johnson (West Simsbury, Conn.) followed with a pair of free throws to make it a three point game (57-54) with 7:28 to go.

            After three straight offensive rebounds, Degou nailed a key three-pointer to put KSC back up 60-54 at the 5:30 mark.

            A driving lay-up by sophomore guard Renee Nicholas (Sebago, Me.) made it a four point game (64-60) with 48 seconds to play.  After a USM timeout, Degou hit one of two free throws to make it 65-60.  Back-to-back steals by the Owls sealed the victory.

            Sapp also finished in double figures for the Owls with 10 points. Sophomore forward Courtney Cirillo (Windsor Locks, Conn.) pulled down seven rebounds.  KSC netted 12 of its 23 shots from behind the arc (52%) in the game.

            Leighton topped USM with 22 points.  Nicholas and DeMillo each had 12 points and Johnson had a game high 12 rebounds for USM.

            Keene State has the week off before traveling to R.I. College next Saturday. 

            Southern Maine hosts Colby College on Tuesday.