KEENE, N.H. - Castleton University broke away from a halftime deadlock to outscore the Keene State College women's basketball team 32-14 in the final 20 minutes and eventually posted a 54-36 conference win over the Owls on Wednesday evening at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  5-14, 4-6 LEC
• Castleton:  11-8, 6-4 LEC

How It Happened

Keene State fell into an early deficit, battled back to make it a new game at halftime, but then did not score for over five minutes to start the third quarter and never recovered.  The Owls did not have a double-figure scorer and were led by Jordyn Burke's eight points and two rebounds.  Kenzie Bennett added six points, five rebounds and two steals, but KSC shot 27 percent in the game and 5-of-20 from three-point range.  Castleton's Brooke Raiche (7-11 FG, 2-4 3-PT) and Elise Magro (7-13 FG) combined to score 33 points on 14-of-24 shooting as the Spartans rebounded from a 68-54 home loss to UMass-Dartmouth this past Saturday.  Magro added nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.  CU had lost three of their four league games away from home entering the night.

The Owls fell into a hole quickly in the opening quarter, as Castleton made 6-of-14 shots, including 2-of-5 from three-point range, to turn what was a 6-6 game into a 16-8 edge after one.  A long shot by Raiche and a layup from Magro accounted for five Spartan points in a row, which made it 11-6 at the 3:36 mark.  Emilee Bose canned her own trey a little over two minutes later to make it an eight-point game, which it remained after one.  Keene State battled back in the second frame, finding some offense while stifling Castleton's offense to the tune of 3-of-11 shooting and six points.  Consecutive layups by Tamra Gonyea and Hien Thach over five minutes into the quarter helped complete an 11-4 Owl burst that brought the home team right back into the game at 20-19 with 4:49 to go.  Keene State had three chances to jump in front for the first time, but was unable to.  A triple by Bennett with a little over two minutes remaining tied the game at 22 before neither team scored over the remainder of the half, both finishing at 36 percent (9-for-25) shooting over the first 20 minutes.

The Owls' scoring drought continued out of the locker room, as they did not score until the 4:37 mark of the third quarter and were hit with a 13-3 run by Castleton that left the Spartans up 35-25 nearly eight minutes in.  A pair of free throws by Lilly Shlimon and a three by Bennett kept KSC within seven (37-30) as the quarter wound down, but Emily Bose made a triple in the final seconds to put the visitors up 10 entering the fourth.  KSC made just two field goals in the third, while Castleton made 7-of-13 shots.  The Spartans pulled away after that as the Owls were befallen by another long stretch without any points, getting outscored 8-0 over the opening 7:22 of the fourth quarter to fall behind 48-30.

Inside the Paint

• Castleton shot 13-of-24 (54%) after the break, finishing at 45 percent (22-of-49) for the game.  They also made 4-of-10 from deep.  KSC shot 13-of-48 and 5-of-20, respectively.
• The Owls have not beaten the Spartans since CU joined the conference before last season and have scored 45 points or less in three of the four head-to-head meetings.  Castleton took the earlier matchup this season 56-54 in Vermont.
• Jordyn Burke is 14-of-25 from the floor over the past three games, scoring 32 points.

Up Next

• Keene State visits the University of Southern Maine (9-10, 4-6 LEC) on Saturday (February 1) for a game that could have plenty of bearing on the sixth and final playoff spot come Little East tournament time.  The Owls and Huskies are currently tied in that spot at 4-6 in league play, though USM currently owns the tiebreaker by virtue of an earlier head-to-head victory.  Tip-off is at 1:00 pm.
• Castleton hosts Rhode Island College (16-3, 8-2 LEC), who has fallen to second in the conference, on Saturday at 3:00 pm.