Box Score BOSTON, Mass.— Christan Wojtas scored 18 but it was not enough as the Keene State College (10-8, 2-5) women's basketball team suffered a conference road loss to UMass Boston, 75-56, Sunday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
Courtney Roberts added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Stephanie D'Annolfo grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go along with five points. Kelsey Cognetta finished with eight points, five assists and three steals.
UMass Boston (11-6, 4-3 Little East) was led by Olivia Murphy who had a monster double-double of 18 points and 18 rebounds, to spur the Beacons. Grace Geary also ended the day with 18 points, as the freshman poured in a dozen of her points in the second half. She knocked down 9-of-12 free throws, to go along with her five rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
The Beacons were able to pull off the season-split, by holding the Owls to just 33.3 percent (22-of-66) shooting from the field and 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) shooting from distance. On the other side, UMass Boston ended the game shooting 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field, a 16-percent improvement from the team's first meeting in which Keene State handed the Beacons a 58-47 loss. UMB earned a 24-8 edge over KSC in points from the free throw line and held a big advantage on the boards (44-34) and a 32-22 edge in points in the paint.
Keene State opened the game with a 6-2 run in the opening 4:21 to earn their first and only lead of the game.
The Beacons answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead for good, as Murphy responded with a layup and Katie Mathieu and Burston knocked down back-to-back threes. UMass Boston would keep extending their advantage as they held Keene State to just one field goal over a 9:36 span, while pushing their lead to 18-8.
After Keene State went into a full-court press trying to get back into the game, UMass Boston took their largest lead of the half in the final two minutes, thanks to three straight layups from Murphy and a pair of free throws from Geary. The hosts took a 33-18 advantage into the break and Murphy tied the Beacons' biggest lead of the day with a free throw to make it 34-18 to begin the second half.
That's when Keene State made their first and only big run of the game. Wotjas went on a personal 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 34-25 and that was just the start. Kelsey Cognetta, the team's leading scorer, sandwiched a pair of baskets around a Stephanie D'Annolfo lay-in to cap off a 13-0 Owls run.
After Murphy and Roberts traded baskets, Sandi Purcell knocked down a huge 3-pointer to cut the Beacons' lead to just 37-36 with 13:09 to play. Roberts would add another layup, after a Nelson basket to cut it to one at 39-38, but that would be as close as Keene State would get all afternoon.
Directly after the 18-3 Owls flurry, UMass Boston responded with a 16-5 run to put the game out of reach for good.
After the teams traded baskets on the next two possessions, UMass Boston put the game away with an 8-0 run over a 2-minute span to make it 57-45 in favor of the hosts with 6:15 to play. Geary and Burston combined for all eight of the points, with the two combining to hit six of eight free throws during the stretch.
KSC will return to action Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m., when they host Plymouth State.
