Box Score PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Seniors Sophia Guerrier and Brooke Young combined for 33 points while shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range and 15 rebounds as Rhode Island College pulled away to a 50-38 win over the cold-shooting Keene State College women's basketball team in the Little East Conference tournament championship game Saturday night at The Murray Center.
Records
- Rhode Island College: 11-0
- Keene State: 3-5
How It Happened
Seeing each other again just one week after their previous meeting, albeit with different stakes, Keene State could not overcome a 30 percent (16-for-54) shooting performance from the field as the Anchorwomen won their third league championship in program history, joining their wins in 2012 and 2014. Last Saturday in Keene, the Owls lost 63-53 after falling into a massive 42-14 hole thanks to Rhode Island College shooting a blistering 67 percent in the opening half while making 6-of-7 from deep. RIC did not repeat that on this night, but KSC did fall behind quickly again, 15-4 after one quarter. Unlike seven days ago, the Owls began their push much sooner this time, tying the game by halftime (21-21) before taking their first lead in the second half, but it was not enough, as they were outscored 16-7 in the final 10 minutes and connected on just three of their 13 shots (RIC 6-of-12) in that span. The Anchorwomen once again relied on their defense that held opponents to 30 percent shooting overall and 23 percent from beyond the arc while finishing the shortened season 11-0, eight of the victories by double-figures. RIC was making their second consecutive appearance in the Little East final and this time found a happier ending for themselves after losing 49-44 at Eastern Connecticut State University last year.
Keene State, who was hoping for their second league title after previously winning 71-58 at ECSU in 2017, got a combined 27 points and 19 rebounds from sophomore
Hailey Derosia and senior
Jordyn Burke, with the latter making 7-of-9 shots to finish with her first double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds). Derosia had 12 and nine and made 2-of-3 from three-point land as her efficient season that sees her currently shooting 45 percent overall (seven percent better than last year) and 9-of-16 (56 percent) from three (10-for-65 in 2019-2020) continues.
The Anchorwomen led 7-4 a little over six minutes in before closing the first quarter on an 8-0 burst as shades of last week returned, but seven points from Burke and four from Derosia helped the Owls to a dominant 17-6 second quarter that tied the game at 21 heading into halftime. KSC took the lead (23-21) after Burke scored on their first offensive possession of the third quarter, and it stayed close for a while after that, with a triple by
Lilly Shlimon and bucket by
Rylee Burgess providing five consecutive points to nudge the Owls back in front 29-27 at the 3:18 mark. Young's triple capped a run of seven straight RIC points in 72 seconds, but another bucket by Burke kept KSC within three (34-31) entering the fourth.
It was RIC's duo Guerrier and Young that helped the home team pull away in the final quarter, each hitting big triples to gain separation. Guerrier's came 1:38 into the fourth, pushing the lead to two possessions (37-31), before Young connected at the 4:58 mark to make it 42-33. Derosia had an answer, hitting a triple of her own a minute later, to keep Keene State with some hope at 42-36, but the Owls surrendered the next six points in a row to fall into a double-digit hole and scored only two themselves over the final 3:54.
Guerrier, named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. She shot 7-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-4 from three-point range. After making just two of her first 17 attempts from deep this season, she made nine of her last 12, 8-of-11 coming against Keene State. Young had 14 points and made 5-of-7 shots (3-4 3-PT) herself.
Inside the Paint
- The Owls committed only five more miscues (22-17) than RIC, but were outscored 16-6 off them, which helped negate advantages of 39-34 on the glass (13-8 on the offensive end) and 13-5 in second chance points. The Anchorwomen were outrebounded only twice in their 11 games, both by Keene State.
- KSC is averaging just 42 points per game while losing the last seven consecutive games in the series.
Up Next
- Keene State recently added a pair of games next weekend against Norwich University (2-1). The Owls will travel to Vermont to play the Cadets on Saturday, March 13 at 12:00 p.m. before hosting them in Keene the next day for their final game of the season.
- Rhode Island College will look toward the 2021-2022 campaign that begins in early November. The Little East champion normally receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but it was cancelled on February 3 due to low participation numbers. All three of RIC's conference titles have been won in Providence after they earned the top seed in the regular season.
