KEENE, N.H 1/4/13 – Keene State College men's and women's basketball teams will host the Little East leading Southern Maine Huskies in a conference doubleheader header at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.  The women's game begins at 1 p.m. with tip-off for the men's game scheduled for 3 p.m.

Ranked 15th in the latest D3Hoops.com poll, the USM women (12-0, 2-0 LEC) continue to be a perennial national and regional power while the Husky men (7-5, 2-0 LEC), who are tied with Keene State for the top-spot in the LEC standings, have already had several marquee wins, including conference victories over Eastern Conn. (69-63, OT) and Western Conn.  (92-80).

“They're big, their athletic and well-coached, so you have to bring you're 'A' game anytime you play Southern Maine,” said KSC women coach Keith Boucher.  “They don't beat themselves and they really make you work at both ends of the floor for everything you get.”

Led by the trio of seniors Nicole Garland (10.3 ppg.) and Jordan Grant (11.8 ppg., 8.3 rpg.) and sophomore Rebecca Knight (12.8 ppg., 8.2 rpg.), the Huskies are averaging a league best 69.8 ppg. and a +18.2 scoring margin.

Southern Maine's 12-game winning streak includes a 72-58 win over Bowdoin and LEC victories against Eastern Conn. (59-54) and Western Conn. (60-55).

The Keene State women (5-6, 0-2 LEC) are one of three teams still looking for their first LEC win of the season.  The Owls are coming off a tough stretch where they played three straight days.  “We're pretty banged up right now,” said Boucher.  “Bottom line is they're working hard and they're giving me the effort every day. I think we can see some improvements.  We just have to keep trying to incrementally get better.”

Siobhan Carnell is having a super senior season for the Owls, leading the team in scoring (14.3 ppg.) and rebounding (7.3 rpg.).  Sophomore Christan Wojtas (13.2 ppg.) has been a long-range scoring threat and freshman Ryanne Williams (8.7 ppg. 5.5 rpg.) has provide the team with inside scoring and rebounding.

Keene State is 5-27 against USM in LEC play with all of five wins coming at Spaulding Gym.

Keene State (7-4, 2-0 LEC) and Southern Maine are the two remaining undefeated men's teams in the conference.  According to KSC men's coach Rob Colbert, The Owls, who have won four of the last five games, including a 73-63 non-conference victory at Lasell on Thursday, still need to improve.  “We have to play a lot better.  We have to compete at a higher level and we have to be a little bit more deliberate in the half court,” he said.

Senior Anthony Mariano has elevated his game of late, averaging 23 points and seven rebounds in the last three games.  The Naugatuck, Conn, native comes into Saturday's game needing just 22 points to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.

“Anthony and I had a long talk,” said Colbert. “I think he has a big sense of urgency.  We cleared the air about what's expected of him and he's done a real good job following what we've asked him to do.” 

Pleased with the Mariano, Colbert said his other big players need to step up. “We need Ryan Martin (15.7 ppg.) and Rashad Wright (10.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg.) to crank it up as well,” he said.

The Huskies' senior guard Alex Kee leads the LEC in scoring with a 16.2 ppg. average.  Juniors Conor Sullivan (14.8 ppg., 6.1 rpg.) and Brandon Tomah (10.5 ppg) have also made key contributions to the teams' early season success.

“They run a ton of stuff and shoot the ball extremely well,” said Colbert.   “They have some very gritty players who have been around for a while and are starting to see their hard work pay off in the win column.”

Keene State has won the last nine meetings between the two teams.