NEW ORLEANS, LA. 12/28/11 - The Keene State women's basketball team found out why Mary Washington (Va.) University holds the 20th spot in the most recent D3 national poll and ranks among the leaders in defensive field goal percentage and opponent scoring.  The Eagles held the Owls to just three field goals and nine second half points on the way to a 46-25 win at the Big Easy Challenge being held at the John A. Alario Event Center in New Orleans, La. on Wednesday. 

"If I could put my finger on it I'd tell you," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher, trying to figure out his team's offensively futility in the second half.  "The bottom line is we didn't make open shots. And you can't play a team like that and not make open shots."

For all the problems Keene State had offensively in the second half, Boucher was proud of his team's defensive effort, especially in the first half when they held Mary Washington to just 15 points.  "We couldn't play any better in the first half defensively," he said.  "When you hold a team like that to 15 points in the first half that's an incredible effort. Unfortunately, we only scored 16 points."

The Owls (6-2) actually jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and took a 16-15 halftime lead when senior guard Nikki Cote (Ashford, Conn.) hit a three-pointer from the left corner in the closing seconds of the half. 

But it was all downhill the rest of the way for the Owls, who shot just 12.5% (3-24) from the field, scoring the fewest points in a half since getting just eight points in a 68-29 loss to Southern Maine in the 2005 LEC finals.  Returning to the court after an 18-day lay-off, the rusty Owls had a hard time getting into any rhythm offensively, waiting for the shot clock to wind down before putting up a shot. "That's a credit to them," said Boucher.  "They're long and angular and play very good defense." 

After trading basket in the early minutes of the second half, the Owls went completely cold, not hitting a hoop over a span of 12 minutes until senior Meghan Farrell (Chester, Vt.) broke the drought, hitting a jumper to make it a 34-23 game with six minutes to play. 

Seniors Courtney Cirillo (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and Cote each finished with six points for the Owls, who shot 24% (10-42) from the field and 25% (2-8) from behind the arc in the game.  The Owls didn't help themselves by turning the ball over 21 times and giving up 12 offensive rebounds to the taller Eagles (9-0), who remain undefeated.  Senior Jenna McRae had nine points and eight rebounds, Brienke Mattes scored nine points, and Aby Diop finished with eight points and six rebounds for MWU, who had a wide 39-28 rebounding advantage.   

"A game like this can only help us," said Boucher.   "I don't believe that there's a team in our conference that's as good as them. I hope we bounce back on Friday when we play Plattsburgh (N.Y.) State. We obviously have to play better offensively, continue to play defense and hope that our shots go down." 

Despite the tough loss, Boucher didn't lose his sense of humor.  "I'm looking out at the Mississippi River and just saw either Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer go by," said Boucher.  "I'm going to sit down with Mark Twain tonight and we're going to talk about the offensive explosion that we're going to have on Friday."