KEENE, N.H. 1/1/13 – The Keene State College women's basketball team rang in the New Year with a come-from-behind  58-57 win over Colby College in the consolation game of the KSC Holiday Tournament at Spaulding Gym on Tuesday.

Sophomore Christan Wojtas (Amherst, N.H.) hit a three-pointer with 13.4 seconds to play to give the Owls (4-6) the hard-fought, non-conference win over the Mules.

Wojtas, who struggled to find the scoring touch after scoring 23 points in the opening-round against River, didn't hesitate on the play, putting up a jumper from the left of the circle to put the Owls ahead.  "They were playing me really tough," said Wojtas, who scored all five of her points in the second half. "Coach (Keith Boucher) set up a play for us and we executed it really well." 

After a Colby time-out, senior Diana Manduca (Portland, Me.) missed a short jumper in the lane.  KSC freshman Kesley Cognetta (Stamford, Conn.) got the rebound and ran out the clock, allowing the Owls to pull-out the win. 

"I couldn't be happier for the team.  We've been scratching and clawing to find a way to be consistent and win a game," said KSC Coach Keith Boucher.  "The kids just battled the whole game. We executed an out of bounds ball to perfection and hit a big shot." 

Colby gradually pulled away from the Owls in the first half.  A three-pointer by freshman Carylanne Wolfington (Hallowell, Me.), who had 11 first half points, followed by a free throw by senior Jayde Bennett (Lynn, Mass.) put the Mules up 30-20 with 1:46 to go in the half.

Keene State was able to close the gap to 30-24 at the half on back-to-back lay-ups by Cognetta.  Senior Siobhan Carnell (Quincy, Mass.) had 14 first half points for the Owls.

Keene State scored the first six points of the second half, tying the score (30-all) on a jumper by Carnell.  

A driving lay-up by Carnell gave KSC its first lead in the second half 34-32 at the 14:12 mark.  Sophomore Courtney Roberts (Sutton, Mass.) found Cognetta all alone under the basket and Carnell hit a step-back jumper to give KSC a 42-35 lead at the midway point of the half.

After getting into early foul trouble yesterday against River, Carnell kept the Owls in the game against Colby, finishing with a career high 28 points and nine rebounds. "I just felt I didn't contribute enough yesterday, so I wanted to step up and start playing well at home," said Carnell, who was named to the All-Tournament team.

The stubborn Mules got back into the game at the line.  Manduca hit a pair from the line to put Colby up 47-46 with 4:03 to play. Junior Jen Nale (Belgrade, Me.) later hit a three-pointer to give the Mules a 50-48 lead.

The game was decided in the final minutes of the game.  Wojtas hit a lay-up to tie the score at 52-all at the two minute mark.  

Junior Gabe Donahue (Cape Elizabeth, Me.) knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner to make it 55-52.  After Sophomore Nikki Stacy (Uxbridge, Mass.) missed a free, throw, freshman Ryanne Williams (Norwell, mass.) grabbed the rebound and made the put-back to tie the score at 55-all with 38 seconds to go.

Manduca made a jumper to give the Mules a 57-55 lead.  Wojtas answered with her game-winning three-pointer to give KSC the much-needed win.

"I win like this can boost our confidence a little and gives us a little momentum going into the next couple of games," said Carnell.  "We're learning we can win make some key stops when it counts and win some close games."  

Cognetta, who saw significant time at the point for the Owls in the second half, finished with 12 points.  Williams had eight points to go with five rebounds.

Manduca and Wolfington, who represented the Mules on the All-Tournament team, each finished with 11 points to lead Colby (4-6). 

KSC shot 43% (24-56) from the field, made two of 11 shots from behind the arc (18%) and went 8-13 from the line (62%).

Colby was 17-56 (30%) from the field, went 6-27 from three-point land, and connected on 17 of its 18 shots (94%) from the line.

Keene State will play its third game in as many days when it hosts Worcester State on Wednesday (6 p.m.).

In the championship game, Salve Regina jumped out to a 49-34 halftime lead and coasted to a 78-55 victory over Rivier University.

Senior Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.), who was named the tournament's MVP, scored 20 of her game high 27 points in the first half to lead the Seahawks (3-6) to the win. She also pulled down 10 rebounds and dished our four assists in the title game.

Selected to the All-Tournament team, junior Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.) and freshman Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) each finished with 15 points. 

Sophomore Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H.) had 22 points and junior A.J. Guidi (Derry, N.H.) finished with 19 points to lead the Raiders (7-4). The Seahawks won the battle of the board 47-31. 

All-Tournament Team

MVP – Kaitlyn Birrell – Salve Regina

Meaghan Harden – Salve Regina

Marissa Pendergast – Salve Regina

A.J. Guidi – Rivier

Deanna Purcell – Rivier

Siobhan Carnell – Keene State

Carylanne Wolfington – Colby