PROVIDENCE, R.I.--A furious second half comeback fell just short as the Keene State College women's basketball team fell to Rhode Island College, 70-57 in an Little East Conference game at the Murray Center on Saturday.

Rhode Island College (15-6, 9-1 LEC) has won 12 of its last 14 contests, including nine straight LEC tilts, and continues to hold sole possession of first place in the Little East Conference. Meanwhile, Keene State (11-10, 3-7 LEC) remains locked into a tie for sixth place in the league after dropping its third consecutive game.

Freshman guard Jovan Kingwood (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Owls with 10 points off the bench, while sophomore forward Ryanne Williams (Norwood, Mass.) added eight points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists. Freshman forward Sarah Kober (Easthampton, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Laurie Allien (Medford, Mass.) scored nine points and swiped three steals as Keene's bench outscored its own starting lineup, 40-17, and outscored RIC's bench, 40-6, on the afternoon.

Five Anchorwomen finished with double-digit scoring efforts in Saturday's win, including sophomore Vandell Andrade (Providence, R.I.), who tied her career-high rebound total with 22 while scoring 12 points, with three steals and a pair of assists on the day. Senior guard Stephanie Prusko (Lincoln, R.I.) totaled 14 points and five rebounds, while senior forward Cara Paladino (Arlington, Mass.) netted 14 points and hauled in six boards.

After Lagrotteria buried three straight three-pointers to give RIC an early 9-2 lead with 16:36 on the clock, the Anchorwomen continued to storm ahead of the Owls behind a 13-5 run to take a 22-7 lead over the visitors with 9:22 remaining in the frame. RIC outscored Keene State, 16-13, through the rest of the frame to give the hosts a 38-20 lead heading into intermission. The Anchorwomen shot at a 46 percent (13-for-28) clip in the first half and outrebounded the Owls, 22-13, while KSC shot just 26 percent (6-for-23) through the first 20 minutes.

The Anchorwomen surged ahead by as many as 23 in the opening minutes of the second half as a layup from Paladino made it 46-23 with 16:30 left to play. However, Keene State responded with a remarkable rally midway through the second half behind its second unit, as the Owls' bench went on a 24-8 scoring run over the next nine minutes to cut the deficit to just seven.  Kober put back the miss of a Kingwood three pointer, followed by baskets from Kingwood and Laurie Allien (Medford, Mass.) that got KSC within 54-47.  

KSC could not get closer, and the Anchorwomen closed out the game thanks to six consecutive points from Moore, who converted a four point play in the final seconds.

Rhode Island College outrebounded Keene State, 42-30, but committed 18 turnovers in the win. The Owls were aided by a stingy defensive effort that led to a total of 13 steals.

The Owls return home to take on Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday, February 11th at 5:30. Rhode Island College plays at home against Western Connecticut also on the 11th.