NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Keene State College women's basketball team scored the first seven points of the game and led 10-3 nearly halfway through the opening quarter, but were then outscored 41-14 over the remaining 15 minutes of the first half as the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth eased to a 76-51 Little East Conference victory Wednesday at the Tripp Athletic Center.

Records

• Keene State:  3-7, 1-3 LEC
• UMass-Dartmouth:  6-6, 2-1 LEC

How It Happened
Valerie Luizzi and the Owls got off to as good of a start as they could have hoped for in their first game since December 10, making four of their first seven shots and two of their initial three treys with Luizzi scoring eight points to open up a seven-point lead less than five minutes in, but the momentum of the game changed in a hurry in the Corsairs' favor and KSC had no answers from there.  UMD, who returned from their holiday break this past weekend with a 74-46 win over State University of New York-Polytechnic Institute before a 78-58 loss at then-No. 11 Smith College, came back to take a 17-16 lead after one and then dominated the second quarter 27-8 to take a 20-point lead at halftime.  After falling behind 10-3, the Corsairs made an eye-popping 16 of their next 20 shots (80 percent) and 6-of-8 from three (75 percent) to take a 44-24 lead.  Jordan Moretti had 14 points in that span and Kaylin Zalewski 10.  UMass-Dartmouth's percentages helped nullify eight turnovers, as did the Owls returning the favor 12 times themselves while shooting 6-of-17 from the floor, missing all seven threes they took, and going 2-of-6 at the free throw line.  A layup from Rylee Burgess with 7:14 left in the second quarter had the Owls within 22-18, but KSC then went well over four minutes without a point and committed five turnovers in that span while surrendering 14 consecutive points.  Aryanna Murray ended a six-minute drought without a field goal at the 1:47 mark to make it 37-22, but Moretti answered back with a layup right away and the lead for UMass-Dartmouth reached a half-high 20 on Melanie DeMeo's three in the final minute.  The Corsairs put 44 points on the board in the first half, which was a stark turnaround from last year's season series against Keene State when they pulled out a win but scored only 46 points in a full game at Spaulding Gymnasium and then lost to KSC 62-54 at home, shooting 32 percent.  Moretti was 3-of-13 in that game.

It was a far different story this time around, and it did not change in the second half as the Owls never seriously threatened, getting only as close as 54-37 through three quarters after winning the period by three.  It was also, unfortunately, a familiar refrain for KSC away from Spaulding Gymnasium this year, where they are still searching for their first victory.  The Owls have shot 32 percent overall in five road games and one on a neutral court, getting outscored by 14 points on average.  Tonight, they settled at a 35 percent (20-for-57) clip from the field but made just 4-of-23 from long range (17 percent).  Since making 17-of-46 (37 percent) in a two-game span against Plymouth State University and Bridgewater State University in early December, they are eight for their last 45 (18 percent) in the last two games. 

UMass-Dartmouth briefly cooled off in the third quarter, shooting 4-for-13 while scoring just 10 points, but KSC was held to 4-for-17 (24 percent), allowing them to chop just three points off their halftime deficit.  The Owls got to within 58-44 with 7:02 to go in regulation after a three by Elizabeth Gonyea and layup from Luizzi, but allowed layups on each of UMD's next two trips to slip back behind by 18 again.  The Corsairs made 10-of-17 (59 percent) from the floor in the final 10 minutes, and after Grace Furze made it a 62-47 game by connecting from deep with 4:59 left, scored 14 consecutive points to build their largest lead of the game.

Luizzi (4-9 FG) and Murray (4-18 FG, 2-2 FT) paced KSC with 10 points apiece.  Burgess grabbed 10 rebounds and added six points.

Moretti had 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting (3-6 3-PT) for UMass-Dartmouth while Zalewski added 14 points (5-8 FG, 3-6 3-PT) and eight rebounds and Teja Andrews 10 points (5-14 FG).  Caroline Wilson finished with nine rebounds.  Four Corsairs had between three and five assists, and UMD had 20 on 31 baskets in the game as a team while moving back to .500 for the second time since a 2-5 start in what has been an up-and-down season.  UMass-Dartmouth's last five games have all been decided by 20 points or more (3-2).

Inside the Paint

• The Owls were expected to take part in the Basketball Destinations Classic in Naples, Fla. between Christmas and the New Year, but unexpected travel issues forced them to cancel the trip, leading to a longer-than-expected hiatus.
• Fall Mountain Regional High School graduate Avery Stewart, a transfer from Eastern Connecticut State University, made her team debut in the game and made one of her two field goal attempts.
• KSC committed 24 turnovers in the game, their second-highest total of the season.
• Keene State leads the all-time series 36-18, but is 3-9 against UMD since the 2017-2018 campaign.

Up Next

• The Owls are home to take on Western Connecticut State University (9-1, 2-0 LEC) on Saturday, January 7 for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.  KSC swept last year's season series, winning 70-52 in Keene in the first of a weekend back-to-back.
• UMass-Dartmouth welcomes the University of Southern Maine (4-6, 2-2 LEC) for a league contest on the same day at 1:00 p.m.  The Huskies handled Plymouth State University 68-46 tonight to win consecutive games for the first time this season.  The Corsairs have beaten USM eight straight times.