BOSTON, Mass. 12/10/11 – Led by senior Courtney Cirillo's (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and sophomore transfer Carley Kiernan (Topsfield, Mass.) the Keene State College women's basketball team defeated UMass Boston 65-51, in their final contest of the first semester on Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center.

The Owls (6-1, 2-0 LEC) got 19 points and eight rebounds from Cirillo, and a career-high 15 points and six rebounds from Kiernan off the bench. "Carley (Kiernan) gave us a real good boost off the bench," said senior Sara Laudano (North Haven, Conn.) who was the only other Owl in double-figures with 12 points. "We've had some injuries so for her to step up when we needed it is great and should do wonders for her confidence."

Early in the contest, KSC wasn't passing well and needed to share the ball better against the Beacons zone. "I think early in the game we weren't moving the ball well," said Laudano. "In the second half, we made the extra pass and started to execute our offense better which made for some open shots down the stretch."

In the first half, KSC finally extended the lead to 10 points with 14 seconds remaining, on a jumper from Cirillo to make it 33-23.

The second half saw the Owls open the lead to as many as 18, as Cirillo and freshman Sarah Phelan (Northbridge, Mass.) each hit jumpers in the paint, to give the visitors a 48-30 advantage.

UMass Boston would storm back, going on a 17-5 run capped by a three-ball from guard Lauren Perra (Taunton, Mass.), to cut the lead to 53-47 with 6:29 remaining.

Keene State would close the contest on a 12-4 run, with junior forward Siobhan Carnell (Quincy, Mass.) scoring six-of-her-eight points during that stretch, as KSC would prevail with a 65-51 conference victory.

Perra led the Beacons with 16 points. Freshman center Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) had 13 points, and a game-high 12 rebounds and three blocks in the losing effort.

UMass Boston won the rebounding battle 43-42 on the game, but KSC outscored the Beacons in the paint 28-14. The Owls shot over 43% on the game (26-of-60), while UMB shot 27% (18-of-66) in the loss.

Keene State returns to the court next on December 28th, as they will face Mary Washington at noon in Louisiana at the Big Easy Challenge.