KEENE, N.H. – Worcester State University outscored the Keene State College women's basketball team 26-7 over a span of less than 14 minutes in the fourth quarter and eventual overtime, erasing a 16-point second half deficit while posting a surprising 68-63 win over the Owls Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Records
- Keene State: 3-3
- Worcester State: 3-4
How It Happened
The Owls got an impressive showing from freshman
Aryanna Murray, who poured in 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting (5-for-7 from three), and appeared to be well on their way to a win as they led for 37:49 out of the 40 regulation minutes and by as many as 16 with 7:31 left in the third, but made just five of their final 17 shots from the field and 7-of-20 free throws overall as they tumbled to a tough loss. Worcester State had lost three straight entering tonight, scoring 54 points or fewer each game and seemingly well on their way to doing so again, but came alive in the fourth quarter, outscoring Keene State 19-8 to tie the game for the very first time on Gigi LeMay's jumper with 59 seconds left that made it 58-58. Even still, Keene State had three chances to retake the lead in the final minute, but could not convert as they missed a layup with 33 seconds left and after forcing a Lancers turnover, missed two free throws with three seconds left, and then turned the ball over in the final 1.9 seconds after they got the ball back following the misses. Worcester State made the Owls pay in the extra session, as they put up the first four points after neither team scored for over three minutes. Calli Korbey's jumper with 1:45 left made it 60-58, her team's first lead of the game, and after KSC misfired on a three, she sank two from the free throw line after being fouled.
Rylee Burgess answered with a bucket to keep the Owls within one possession at 62-60 with still 1:16 to go, but Nyah Thomas scored on the other side on the next trip and KSC then followed with a pair of turnovers, not scoring again until
Brianna Metellus' three at the buzzer set the final score. Worcester State made six of 10 free throws in the overtime while Keene State missed four tries and shot 2-for-7 (29 percent) from the floor.
The final 15 minutes where a stark contrast to the opening 30, which belonged completely to the Owls, who built a 20-9 lead after one quarter and a 39-24 edge at halftime.
Hailey Derosia got the scoring started with a steal and layup, and then a pair of newcomers in Murray and
Kenzie Durnford helped balloon the edge to 14-5 with 4:17 left in the first quarter. The pair scored 10 in a row of their teams' points, seven from Murray, and overall KSC got 14 of their 20 points in the first from first year players including baskets by
Maya Rioux and
Samantha Lee made it 18-7 at the 2:48 mark. The Owl lead never fell below double-digits in either of the next two quarters as they remained – seemingly – well in command. Layups by Burgess and
Jenny Freedman, who finished with 10 points and 11 assists, within the first minute of the second made it 24-9, and a triple by Metellus with 4:29 to go in the first half had KSC up 32-18. The Owls made two of their first three shots out of the locker room to go in front by a game-high 43-27 margin, where it also reached once more on Burgess' layup at the 7:31 mark. Another steal and transition layup by Derosia with 1:08 left in the third restored the edge to 14 (50-36), seemingly warding off WSU after they had gotten within 10, but Keene State scored just 13 points over the final 16:07 of the game as they could not close it out.
Burgess finished with nine points and six rebounds for the Owls. Worcester State was paced by LeMay's 14 points (4-6 FG, 6-8 FT), eight rebounds and three steals. Sarah Blomgren had nine points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Inside the Paint
- Murray's 21 points were easily a new high watermark in her young career. She has scored 44 points over her past four games, has nine assists in the last three games, and is shooting 47 percent from the field this season (8-of-17 from three).
- Keene State has lost four in a row in the series after winning nine of the first 10, five by double-figures. When the teams met in December of 2019 in Massachusetts, the Owls held a 59-47 lead with 6:54 to go but were outscored 19-2 the rest of the way and lost 66-61.
Up Next
- Keene State returns home next Tuesday (November 30) to take on Wesleyan University (Conn.) (3-2) at 6:00 p.m.
- Worcester State visits Wellesley College (1-5) on the same day for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.
