DANBURY, CONN. 2/26/10 - A late second half rally came up short for the fourth seeded Keene State College women's basketball team who lost to top seed and host Western Connecticut State University 63-56 in the first of two semifinal Little East Conference tournament games played at Feldman Arena on Friday.

Looking to return to the LEC finals for the first time since 2007, Keene State (17-9) will now await a possible berth to the ECAC New England tournament.  The field will be announced on Monday.

Western Conn. (21-5) moves on to the finals where they will play the winner between second seed Eastern Conn (17-8) and third seed Southern Maine (19-7).  WCSU, which will be making its sixth trip to the finals, won its only title in 1994. The two semifinals winners will play for the championship and the conferences' automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday (5 p.m.).

Senior guard Kristin Degou (Newburyport, Mass.) finished with a game high 23 points to lead Keene State.  Junior center Melissa Teel led the Colonials with 16 points and 12 rebounds, registering her 22nd double-double of the season.

Degou, who had 13 first half points, was the Keene State offense in the early going as she scored the Owls first 10 points of the game.  Western Conn, undefeated at the Feldman Arena this season (12-0), led by as many as 10 points in the first half and took an eight point lead (36-28) into the locker room.

Keene State senior forward Jen Cleaveland (Newington, Conn.) picked up her third foul late in the half and spent a good portion of the second period on the bench.

Trailing by 13 (48-35) with 13:11 to go, the Owls ran off 10 straight points to cut the Colonials lead to three points (48-45) on a three-pointer by sophomore forward Courtney Cirilo (Windsor Locks, Conn.), who came off the bench to score 17 points and pull down six rebounds for the Owls.

After making a steal, Degou hit a lay-up to make it a four point game (58-54) with 2:22 to play.

The Owls had a couple of chances to draw even with the Colonials, but couldn't come up with the big basket.  "We just didn't make enough baskets," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher.  "You got to make shots when you're playing a talented team like Western Conn."

KSC still had a chance in the final minute of play after senior forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.) connected on a jumper to make it 60-56 with 53 second to go. But Karli Spera hit a huge three-pointer for WCSU with 28 seconds to play to seal the win.

While most of Keene State's offense came from two players (Degou and Cirillo), Western Conn placed four players in double figures.  In addition to Teel, Spera also had 16 points, Heather Lee scored 15 points, and Katie Moffo chipped in with 13 points. 

The Owls struggled from behind the arc, hitting just three of its 12 attempts (25%).

A disappointed Boucher was proud of his teams' comeback bid.  "They didn't quit tonight and they haven't quit all season."