PROVIDENCE, R.I. 1/12/13 – Looking for its first Little East Conference win of the season, the Keene State College women's basketball team committed a pair of costly turnovers in the final 47 seconds, resulting in a tough 54-49 loss to Rhode Island College at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.

            Keene State falls to 5-9 (0-5 LEC) while RIC improves to 10-4 (4-1 LEC).

            Senior Siobhan Carnell (Quincy, Mass.) scored 15 points and freshman Christan Wojtas (Amherst, N.H.) finished with 14 points leading the Owls. Sophomore Courtney Roberts (Sutton, Mass.) came off the bench to score nine points and pull down a team high six rebounds.

            Freshman Vandell Andrade (Providence, R.I.) finished with 15 points and a game high 13 rebounds for the Anchorwomen.

            Struggling to find their shooting touch in the first half, the Owls fell behind early in the game.  Freshman Danielle LeBlanc (Warwick, R.I.) capped off a 17-3 run by making a steal and going in for an uncontested lay-up to give the Anchorwomen a 27-11 lead with 3:28 to play in the half.

            Keene State which was held scoreless for nine minute stretch in the half, shot just 6-24 (25%) from the field, 1-8 (12%) from behind the arc. 

            A basket off an inbounds play from Roberts cut the Owls' deficit to 10 points (28-18) at the break.

            Taking advantage of its strong zone defense, Keene State was able to get back into the game in the second half.  Wojtas found her rhythm from the outside, hitting a step-back three-pointer to cut the lead to 43-28.

            A few minutes later, Carnell connected on a pair of jumpers to tie the score at 44-all with 5:45 to go.

            The momentum shifted from there.  RIC hit a couple of free throws and senior Melanie Cline (Niantic, Conn.) hit a lay-up to put RIC back on top 49-44 with 3:50 to play.

            Free throws by Roberts and Carnell got the Owls to within two points (49-47) with 2:33 to play.

            Senior Courtney Burns (Rockland, Mass.) found Andrade down low to make it 51-47.

            Fouled going to the hoop, Carnell hit a couple of free throws to cut the lead back to two points (51-49) with 1:31 to go.

            Both teams had a hard time holding onto the ball, combining for 44 turnovers.

            Carnell stole the ball during RIC's next possession, but Wojtas' three-point attempt hit off the front rim. Freshman Kelsey Cognetta (Stamford, Conn.) grabbed the long offensive rebound.  After a timeout, KSC turned the ball over when it wasn't able to get the ball into play on the inbounds.

            The Owls quickly fouled senior Ashley O'Dell (Lincoln, R.I.), who hit both free throws to put RIC up 53-49.  Wojtas missed a shot and Cline was fouled in the rebound action as the Anchorwomen held on for the victory. 

            O'Dell scored 12 points and junior Cara Paladino (Arlington, Mass.) had 10 points for RIC.

            Although they improved their shooting in the second half, the Owls finished the game 16-15 from the field (31%), 4-15 (27%) from behind the arc and 13-20 from the line.

            RIC also had a tough day shooting, hitting 16-52 shots (31%) from the field, 3-16 (19%) in three-pointers and 19-31 (61%) from the line.

            The Anchorwomen won the battle of the boards 47-35.

            Keene State will look for its first LEC win of the season when it travels to Plymouth State University on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.).