Box Score

KEENE, N.H. – Rhode Island College shot 59 percent from long range while making a season-high 10 three pointers as the Anchorwomen spoiled the Keene State College women's basketball team's Senior Day, winning 63-53 at Spaulding Gymnasium in Little East action Saturday afternoon to complete an unbeaten run in the significantly abbreviated 2021 regular season.

Records

• Keene State:  2-4, 2-4 LEC
• Rhode Island College:  9-0, 7-0 LEC

How It Happened
Coming in as a strong defensive team that held eight opponents to an average of 45.9 points per game and 31.4 percent shooting on average, it was an eye-catching offensive showing the first half that helped the Anchorwomen race out to leads of 10-0 and 22-9 after one quarter. The opening 10 minutes saw RIC make 9-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-5 from three-point range, and despite those gaudy numbers, they actually managed to better them in the second quarter, when they shot 70 percent, made both of their tries from distance, and all four of their free throws.  Senior Sophia Guerrier scored 14 points in the half – making four of her five triples – and finished with a game-high 23 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc and a perfect 8-of-8 at the line.  The offensive barrage that saw the Anchorwomen assist on 11 of their 16 made field goals all added up to a whopping 42-19 lead at the break.  KSC had trailed by as many as 28 (42-14), but scored the final five points of the first half on a bucket by Jenny Freedman and triple by Lilly Shlimon, who was one of two Owl seniors (along with Jordyn Burke) to be recognized before the game.  Despite not being able to attend, the families of both sent congratulations messages, and those were played on the gymnasium's video board as part of the recognition.
 
The second half was a far different story as RIC was held to just 21 points in the final 20 minutes, making five field goals on 21 attempts and 7-of-12 from the free throw line.  Even though the Anchorwomen cooled off significantly, they still made 4-of-10 threes, and that helped them greatly in making sure the Owls could not get too close as they attempted to engineer a monstrous late comeback.  Guerrier connected from deep at the 7:33 mark of the third quarter to push RIC's edge back to 24 and the visitors were able to maintain a comfortable 54-35 lead entering the fourth, with KSC never getting closer than 18 in the third.  However, Ashanti Frazier's triple 1:13 into the final quarter proved to be Rhode Island College's only made field goal in the final 10 minutes, as KSC held them to 1-for-10 shooting and forced five turnovers.  Trailing 59-40 with 6:29 left, the Owls made a run at it, getting an old-fashioned three-point play from Michelle LaBonte after Derosia found her streaking down the lane to get within 12 (59-47) with 2:28 remaining.  Shlimon's jumper and two from the line by Freedman, who made eight of 12 there and scored a career-best 14 points to go along with three assists, over the next minute brought the Owls within single-digits (59-51) for the first time since the first quarter.  With the clock ticking just under a minute to go, Guerrier missed a jumper and Keene State had an opportunity to get even closer – within two possessions – but could not convert either one of the two chances they had on that trip.  The floor general for the Anchorwomen, Guerrier (who played all 40 minutes) went 4-for-4 at the line in the final 25 seconds to dash any faint hope Keene State had left.  The Owls outscored RIC 34-21 in the final 20 minutes and 18-9 in the fourth quarter, but their comeback bid began too late and with too much to overcome after the early shooting blitz by the Anchorwomen.
 
RIC wound up having just one player score in double-figures (Guerrier).  Brooke Young (4-8 FG, 1-2 3-PT) added nine points and five assists while Essence McClain had eight points (2-4 3-PT).  Derosia and Jackie Alibrandi added eight points for KSC.  LaBonte, Burke and Shlimon all scored seven, with the first two combining to make five of eight shots.
 
Inside the Paint

• Keene State outscored RIC 22-10 in the paint and had a plus-seven (24-17) edge in bench points thanks to Derosia and Freedman, but was outscored 30-9 from behind the three-point line as the Anchorwomen connected on 10-of-17 (59 percent) and the Owls just 3-of-14 (21 percent).  KSC did shoot 46 percent on twos in the game – including 52 percent after halftime when they had success attacking the basket.
• Rhode Island College has won six straight in the series after losing eight times (all by double-digits) in the previous nine meetings.

Up Next

• Keene State will be the No. 3 seed in this week's upcoming Little East Conference tournament and will travel to second-seeded University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (5-3, 5-2 LEC) on Wednesday (March 3) for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off in the semifinals.  The Corsairs have won seven of the past eight meetings, all in the regular season, since eventual league champion KSC's 66-61 win over them in the 2017 semis at Eastern Connecticut.
• Rhode Island College is the top seed and will host fourth-seeded Plymouth State University (1-3, 1-3 LEC) the same night at 6:30 p.m.  The Anchorwomen took both meetings in the regular season, 73-43 and 47-31.  PSU will be playing for the first time in 18 days.