KEENE, N.H.  3/6/10 - Two Little East Conference rivals will battle for the ECAC Division III New England Women's Basketball Tournament Championship at Spaulding Gym on Sunday (1 p.m.). 

            Top seed and host Keene State College (19-8) advanced to the finals with a 56 -49 victory over third seed and defending champion WPI in Saturday's first semifinal game.  Sixth seed Plymouth State University (17-10) upset second seed Regis College 72-65 in the second semifinal game to set up the championship game between the two LEC teams.

            "That shows the strength of our conference," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher.  "I don't think we get the respect that we deserve."

            "I'm just so proud of this group. They've been a pleasure to coach all year," said PSU Coach Lauren Lavigne, whose team defeated third-seed Endicott College (70-59) in the quarterfinals.  "We came in with a chip on our shoulder after being picked seventh in the LEC preseason poll and the kids never stopped fighting and never let polls defined them.  They play hard and play smart. We don't have a superstar, we just dig and dig."

            Senior guard Kristin Degou (Newburyport, Mass.) scored a game high 19 points and sophomore forward Courtney Cirillo (Windsor Locks, Conn.) came off the bench to record her second double-double of the season with 10 points and a career high 13 rebounds to lead Keene State to the win over WPI. 

            Holding a slim 28-27 lead early in the second half, the Owls went on an 11-2 run to go up 39-29.  Eight of the points came from Degou, who knocked down consecutive three-pointers. "Sometimes you have to make a play to get everyone going.  It feels good to do that for your team," said Degou.  "This is our home court and our tournament to win."

            The Engineers got the lead down to four points 53-49 on a lay-up by freshman forward Theresa Logan (Southboro, Mass.) with 2:55 to play.  Senior forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.), who finished with 12 points, and Cirillo hit free throws down the stretch to hold off WPI.  Cirillo's shots came after grabbing a key offensive rebound.  "They were getting close near the end and we just needed to finish it off," said Cirillo.  "I wanted the seniors to get another game.  They deserved to finish their careers with an ECAC championship."

            Freshman guard Caitlin O'Connor (New Hampton, N.H.) scored 11 points and sophomore guard Lauren Hanmmann (East Greenbush, N.Y.) finished with 10 points for WPI, which concludes its season with a 20-10 record.

            In Saturday second game, senior forward Laura Kent (Bellingham, Mass.) led four Panthers in double-figures with 22 point and 12 rebounds as Plymouth State came from behind to defeat Regis College.   Kent scored 18 of her points at the line, hitting 18 of her 19 attempts from the charity stripe.

            The Panthers pulled away from the Pride in the final six minutes of the game. Trailing 56-55, PSU scored seven straight points to go up 62-56 on a run that started and ended with a couple of free throws by Kent.

            Later in the half, Regis go the lead down to four (62-58) following a pair of free throws by senior guard Jessica Page (Quincy, Mass.) with 3:10 to play.  But PSU pushed the lead back up to eight points (68-60) with 48 seconds to go after Kent connected once again from the line.

            Junior forward Amanda Kania (Manchester, N.H.), who hit three of her four shots from behind the arc, scored 17 points, sophomore forward Alicia Doucet (Manchester, N.H.) added 13 points and nine rebounds, and senior guard Kalie Judd (Peabody, Mass.) finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for Plymouth.

            Sophomore guard Caitlin Luquet (Walnut Creek, Ca.) scored 12 points and junior forward Sarah McNult (Hampstead, N.H.) had nine points and a game high 14 rebound for Regis (20-10).

            Sunday's championship game will be the third meeting between KSC and PSU on the court this season.  The two teams split during the regular season with each getting home wins; the Panthers winning 62-59 in Plymouth on Jan. 26 and the Owls coming out on top 66-48 in Keene on Feb. 16.

            "It's always a battle when we play Keene, said Lavigne.  "You look at both teams and it's about senior classes.  "Both have tremendous senior classes.  I'm excited that the Little East gets to be in the ECAC Championship."

            "It's not going to be an easy game.  They always come to play," said Boucher.  "We both know each others' strengths and weaknesses, so it's a matter of who executes the best." 

            Looking for its first ECAC Division III championships, Keene State is making its fifth trip to the ECAC tournament. The Owls won the ECAC title as a Division II member in 1988 and 1989, and also reached the championship game in 1993.

           PSU is making its eighth ECAC Tournament appearance, including four in a row from 2000-03.  The Panthers first played in the ECAC Tourney in 1990 and 1995, and won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003.