NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – First years
Samantha Lee and
Kenzie Durnford combined for 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 12 rebounds as the Keene State College women's basketball team built a 22-4 lead after 10 minutes and handled the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with ease in a 59-30 non-conference win Tuesday night at the Amsler Campus Center.
Records
- Keene State: 3-2
- MCLA: 0-4
How It Happened
The Owls got a triple from Durnford nearly right after the opening tip and a layup from
Hailey Derosia less than two minutes in as they quickly led 7-2, and KSC proved to be well on their way from there, ending a brief two game slide that came in narrow late decisions against Babson College and Middlebury College. MCLA's Olivia Pressley very briefly answered with a layup on her team's next possession, but Keene State then ran away, scoring the final 15 points of the quarter to build a 22-4 lead. The Owls shot 50 percent (7-for-14) overall in the period while making 3-of-4 from three and 5-of-6 from the foul line to build the comfortable cushion. They were not done there, either, as they opened the second with six consecutive points to make it 28-4, holding the Trailblazers scoreless for nearly 14 minutes (7:53 in first and 5:57 in second) while punctuating the run at 21-0. The Owls held a 34-8 edge in the final seconds of the opening half before Emily Burke made a three to avoid a single-digit 20 minutes for the Trailblazers, who were limited to four field goals.
Keene State's lead never dropped lower than 24 points in a second half that saw them spread around playing time in their third game in four days that also consisted of an overtime contest Sunday at Middlebury. Fourteen different Owls saw action overall – everyone at least five minutes – tonight. Lee finished with 13 points (4-8 FG) and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench, while Durnford had 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting and seven boards in 22 minutes.
Aryanna Murray added seven points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Leading scorer
Hailey Derosia finished with six points (3-5 FG), four assists, three steals, and two rebounds while playing 21 minutes. KSC shot 13-of-29 (45 percent) in the first half, quickly removing any doubt about the outcome, and led by as many as 33 in the fourth quarter when Durnford's layup made it 47-14 at the 3:47 mark. The victory gave head coach
Keith Boucher the 450th of his career, tied for 74th-most all-time in women's Division III and tied for 27th-most (with SUNY Oneonta's Daphne Thompson) among active coaches at the level, and came on the same night KSC men's basketball head coach
Ryan Cain recorded his 100th career win in an 86-77 victory at Middlebury.
MCLA, who has dropped all four of their games by double-digits and 23 in a row overall, was paced by 10 points from Emily Burke (3-16 FG) as they opened their 2021-2022 home schedule, playing at the Amsler Center for the first time since a 68-64 loss to Worcester State University on February 15, 2020.
Inside the Paint
- KSC has won six of seven in the series and all four games in North Adams by an average of 22.8 points per game.
- Lee, a newcomer from Clifton Park, N.Y., has reached double-figures in scoring twice in five games (both times finishing with 13) and has made 15-of-29 shots (52%) from the floor in her young career. Classmate Durnford (Katy, Texas) has put up 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting (3-of-6 from three) in the past two games and Murray (Nashua, N.H.) eight assists in her last two outings and 10 in the past four.
Up Next
- After the busy stretch, the Owls will have a week off before hosting Worcester State (2-2) in a pre-Thanksgiving game on November 23 at 5:00 p.m. KSC is 2-0 at Spaulding Gymnasium this season. The Lancers will be KSC's third and final MASCAC opponent of the season.
- MCLA travels to Utica College (3-0) on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
