HENNIKER, N.H. – The Keene State College women's basketball team was not afraid to shoot the open shot on Tuesday night in their season opener against the New England College Pilgrims, as the Owls went 12-for-65 from the field in their 56-50 loss to open their 2024 campaign.

Records

• Keene State: 0-1
• New England College: 2-1

How it Happened

NEC got out to a 5-0 lead in the first 2:08 of play, from a layup from Bailey Burke and three from Ajayah Lively. On the ensuing Owl possession, Valerie Luizzi got the Owls within a pair with a three of her own. Brynn Rautiola hit another three-pointer for the Owls two minutes later, while Kiley Bundy made a layup for her first collegiate basket later in the opening quarter. On the other side for the Pilgrims, Gabriella Matlock, Abigail Lacy, and Amya Moss all hit field goals, to go with another from Burke, to give NEC a 13-8 lead over KSC heading into the second quarter of play. In the opening quarter, the Owls shot 3-for-19 from the field, including 2-for-15 from beyond the arch.
 
NEC scored five points in the opening 1:37 of the second quarter, from a layup from Macy Gordon and a three from Burke, to jump out to a ten point lead for the Pilgrims. KSC responded with four consecutive points coming from a three-pointer from Rautiola and a free throw from Bundy with 6:27 left in the first half. Over the next two minutes, Moss scored eight points, to just two from Lily Krysinski for the Owls, as NEC jumped out to a 26-14 lead with 4:31 left in the second. Down the stretch in the first half, Luizzi converted an and-one, to go with Rautiola and Avery Stewart hitting both their free throw attempts, for seven straight points for the Owls. But Moss added a layup right before the halftime buzzer to give the Pilgrims a 28-21 lead heading into the half. In the second half, KSC shot 2-for-13 from the field, with only one three-pointer made from eight attempts, but were efficient from the line, going 8-for-9.
 
Samantha Lee made a layup on the Owls' second possession, while Gordon hit a three in the Pilgrims second possession of the second half. KSC did not score until 3:56 after Lee's basket, as she added a free throw made with 4:50 remaining in the quarter. Over the time frame, NEC added five points, to increase their lead to 12 after Lee's free throw. Burke and Lively added field goals over the next 2:16, to increase the NEC lead to 16. Freshman Ruby Dasaro tallied her first four collegiate points for the Owls in the third quarter, as she made a pair of free throws, followed by a steal on the ensuing NEC possession, and then making a fast break layup for KSC. NEC added three points the rest of the quarter as they took a 43-28 lead into the final 10 minutes of play. KSC had their worst shooting quarter of the day in the third, as they shot 2-for-14 from the field, and 0-for-9 from three.
 
After Luizzi opened the scoring with a layup in the Owls' first possession, Moss and Da traded threes to cut NEC's lead to 13 with 9:07 remaining to play. With 7:39 left to play, Luizzi hit another three-pointer, but Matlock answered back shortly after with a layup as NEC led by 12 with 6:51 left on the clock. KSC was able to claw back to within four points with 3:53 remaining from a pair of free throws from Luizzi and a three-pointer from both Kenzie Durnford and Dasaro. Over the next 1:31 to play, both teams traded baskets, with Matlock making a free throw and Moss making a layup for the Pilgrims. While on the other side of the court, Dasaro made a free throw and Luizzi hit both of her attempts from the line. The rest of the way in the game, both teams were at the free throw line for the majority of the time, with NEC going 5-for-10, with Moss making all five for the Pilgrims, while KSC was unable to hit their field goals and went 3-for-4 from the line (one from Rautiola and Luizzi hitting both her attempts). In the end, NEC held on for a 56-50 lead over the Owls, after KSC had their best shooting quarter from the field in the final quarter, going 5-for-19 from the field, and 4-for-13 from three.
 
Inside the Paint

• With the loss, KSC still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 4-2.
• Luizzi led KSC on the day with 17 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the line, while Dasaro finished with 11 in her first collegiate game. Moss had a game-high of 22 for NEC.
• Durnford finished with a game-high of 15 rebounds in her first game back in a year for the Owls across her 40 minutes played without a sub.
• KSC shot 12-for-65 from the field, including 7-for-45 from three, compared to NEC shooting 21-for-60 from the field and 7-for-19 on three-pointers. The Owls were far more efficient from the free-throw line, as they shot 19-for-23, compared to 7-for-17 from the Pilgrims
• NEC recorded 26 of their points in the paint, to just 10 from KSC.

 
Up Next


Keene State's next game is on Saturday, November 16, at 6:00 PM at Williams College in the Morin Memoriam Tournament, hosted by Williams.
NEC's next game is at the Vermont State University Lyndon Tournament on Saturday, November 16, at 4:00 PM, as they will take on Vermont State University Johnson.