WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Valerie Luizzi, Kenzie Durnford, and Aryanna Murray all scored in double-figures, but the Keene State College women's basketball team struggled offensively in the final 10 minutes of a back-and-forth game with Bridgewater State University, eventually falling 66-59 in the consolation game of the Shooting Touch Tournament hosted by Williams College at Chandler Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

Records

• Keene State:  2-5
• Bridgewater State:  7-2

How It Happened
In a game that saw 17 ties, 13 lead changes, and neither team ever led by more than eight points, it was the Bears – specifically Kylie Grassi and Arielle Cleveland – who made enough plays down the stretch to keep the Owls at bay.  That duo scored 12 of Bridgewater's 19 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Bears close on a 10-3 run over the final 3:32 after KSC had drawn within one possession on a triple from Aryanna Murray.  The Owls had erased a four-point deficit quickly early in the period, getting a triple from Durnford off a pass from Luizzi and a layup from Samantha Lee off a Julia Dessart feed to go in front 50-49 with 9:03 to go, but then turned the ball over 10 times during a near six-minute scoring drought that saw Bridgewater take a 56-50 lead in the process.  Overall, KSC had 12 miscues in the fourth, helping negate a 3-for-6 showing from deep and a 13-4 rebounding edge (with six offensive) in the quarter.  A three from Sydney Bradbury gave the Bears the lead again, and ultimately for good, at the 7:24 mark.  Bridgewater went almost three minutes themselves without a point, but Grassi put her team up four with 4:52 left after converting inside.  After Murray brought KSC within one possession, Eryn Rice provided an important answer for Bridgewater on their very next possession, canning a triple from Grassi that made it 59-53.  It was a rare make on the day from distance for the Bears, who were held to 4-of-23 shooting (17 percent) from beyond the arc.  The Owls finished 7-for-18 from three (39 percent), but were 15-for-45 (33 percent) from two-point land.  KSC had improved on turnovers in recent games, but was also hurt by 24 of those on the afternoon.

As the game flow would indicate, neither team was able to take control over the first three quarters – or the vast majority of the fourth.  The Owls got off to faster start initially on offense, going in front 5-2 on a triple from Luizzi less than two minutes in, but they mustered just six points over the rest of the period, tying it at 11 after one following a jumper from Luizzi in the final 15 seconds.  No lead grew to more than one possession after that until late in the second quarter, when a layup from Lilly Krysinski put KSC in front 21-17 with 3:47 left in the half.  Luizzi scored again less than a minute later to keep the Owls ahead by four, and they still were when Durnford connected from deep with 1:50 remaining to make it 26-22, but the Bears closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a two-point lead into the halftime break.

The second half was more of the same, as Bridgewater took a 32-29 lead on a layup from Piche with six and a half minutes left in the third quarter only to see Durnford answer with a triple.  Luizzi put KSC in front 35-34 at the 5:41 mark with another trey, and Lee scored inside for a 45-43 edge with 55 seconds left in the period, but the Bears scored the final four to take their own two-point advantage to the final 10 minutes.  The Owls turned the ball over only two times in the third offensively and made 2-of-4 from three and 5-of-6 at the free throw line, but Bridgewater was able to nudge in front thanks to 56 percent shooting themselves.  Keene State had a quick response when the Bears went in front by four in the fourth, but the six-minute offensive dry spell proved costly in the end.

Luizzi finished with 15 points on 3-of-8 shooting from deep, four rebounds, and two assists for the Owls.  Durnford finished with a very efficient 13 points (5-6 FG, 3-4 3-PT), while Murray added 13 points herself to go along with four rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and two assists.

Bridgewater State was led by 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from Grassi.  She added eight rebounds and six assists.  Piche had 14 points (6-9 FG, 2-2 FT) and four rebounds as the Bears improved to 2-1 against opponents from the Little East Conference on the season (lost vs. Rhode Island College 85-78, def. University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (95-91).

Inside the Paint

• All five KSC starters registered an assist, with four recording two.  Five Owls overall had multiple assists.
• Luizzi, a first year guard, finished 6-for-13 from three in the tournament and scored 28 points.  She has four double-figure scoring efforts in her first seven career games.
• It was the first meeting between the programs since January 1, 2014 in Tavernier, Fla., a 67-64 Owl victory in the first round of the Key Largo Classic at Coral Shores High School.  Carly Kiernan had 21 points and 15 rebounds.  Stephanie D'Annolfo added 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Up Next

• Keene State hosts Plymouth State University (4-3, 0-1 LEC) on Wednesday, December 7 at 5:30 p.m.  There will be a reception for the KSC fall sports teams, and the game will also serve to amplify Morgan's Message, an organization that "strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics and "aim(s) to expand the dialogue on mental health by normalizing conversations, empowering those who suffer in silence, and supporting those who feel alone."  Plymouth State fell to Western Connecticut State University 66-45 in their LEC opener today.
• Bridgewater State visits Clark University (3-5) on Tuesday, December 6 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.