KEENE, N.H. 11/15/11- Junior Siobhan Carnell (Quincy, Mass.) came off the bench to score a career high 25 points, including 11 of Keene State's 13 points in overtime, to lead the Owls' to a season-opening 71-65 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at a renovated Spaulding Gym on Tuesday night. 

"I feel a lot more comfortable and confident this year shooting the ball," said Carnell, who made the transition from the backcourt to the front court last season. I got into a rhythm in overtime and my shots were falling."

"Siobhan was on another planet," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher.  "Sometimes they say you're in a zone – and she was in a zone." 

Playing on a new floor, the Owls revealed a new line-up.  With senior Meghan Farrell (Chester, Vt.) out with a shoulder injury, Boucher started a pair of newcomers,  Carly Kiernan(Topsfield, Mass.), a sophomore transfer form Wheaton College and freshman Courtney Roberts (Sutton, Mass.).  Both players helped to offset the tall RPI line-up that featured 6-4 senior forward Hilary McKinley (Quinebaug, Conn.).

Getting accustomed to the revised line-up as the game progressed, the Owls took a 29-24 lead into the locker room.

The Engineers outscored KSC 8-2 coming out of the break, going up 32-31 on a lay-up by McKinley.  RPI built on its lead, extending their advantage to nine points (47-38) when senior Katie Hansan (McLean, Va.) found fellow senior Nicole Munroe (Syracuse, N.Y.) for a basket.

Senior Sara Laudano (North Haven, Conn.) got the Owls back in the game, scoring five straight points on a jumper and a three-pointer for the right of the circle to tie the game at 49-all with 5:26 to play. "Coach tells me not to put my head down if I miss a couple of shots," said Laudano, who finished the game with 20 points. They needed me to hit a couple of shots in the second half. I was able to relax and it felt good."

The Engineers fought back, taking a three point lead (58-55) on couple of free throws by Munroe with 52 seconds to play.  A baseline jumper by Carnell got the Owls to within a point with 27 seconds on the clock. 

KSC got a break when freshman Bailei Tetrraut (Cohoes, N.Y.) missed two shots from the line with 10 seconds remaining.  Keene State got the ball up court and with clock ticking down; Laudano threw the ball at the rim and was fouled with less than a second to go.  She hit the first three throw to tie the game, but missed the second to send the game into overtime.  "I was shaking at the line, but my teammates were able to pick me up after I missed the free throws," said Laudano.  "I give them a lot of credit for pulling out the win." 

"Our kids could've folded after the missed free throw, but they didn't," said Boucher.  "They came out, dug in on defense, hit a couple of shots and we found a way to win the game."

Overtime was Carnell time.  The junior used her complete repertoire, hitting a jumper, lay-up, a three-pointer and free throws on the way to scoring the first nine points of the overtime to put the Owls up 67-58 at the 2:48 mark of the extra session.  Carnell sealed the game with a lay-up to make it 71-61 and for good measure made a steal at the other end of the court to give Keene State the opening night victory.

Courtney Cirillo (Windsor Locks, Conn.) struggled from the field, but helped out in other ways, finishing with 10 points to go along with eight rebounds and 10 assists.  Roberts made her presence felt in the paint, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with seven points for the Owls, who won the battle of the boards 54-37 with RPI.

"We preserved,' said Boucher.  We were out-sized, but I thought we held our own on the boards and got contributions for a lot of people, including our freshmen.  We played well together when we had to.  I don't know if we win that game last year."

McKinley finished with a double-double for the Engineers with 22 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Jen Rock (Byfield, Mass.) added 14 points and seven rebounds. 

Both teams struggled from the line and behind the arc.  KSC was 19-27 from the stripe and only hit four of its 12 shots from three-point land.  RPI was 2-11 in three-pointers and 17-30 from the line.

Keene State hosts Mt. Ida College in a first-round game of the KSC Tip-off Tournament on Friday (3 p.m.).  RPI will also be in tournament action on Friday, facing Eastern Nazarene in the opening-round of the Bowdoin College Classic at 8 p.m.