WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Keene State College women's basketball team attempted a season-low 17 three pointers on Tuesday night at Eastern Connecticut State University, five less than their previous season low. The Owls were only able to connect on four of them, as they shot 23.5% from three, while Eastern shot 10-for-19 (52.5%) from three as the Warriors defeated the Owls, 62-54
Records
- Keene State: 6-8 (2-3 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut: 5-9 (4-1 LEC)
How it Happened
The Warriors came out of the gates hot, as they went 4-for-5 from three over the first 3:31 of the quarter, while KSC scored just three points, with
Valerie Luizzi hitting a free throw and
Aryanna Murray making a layup. Over the next two and a half minutes, KSC was able to cut the Warriors' lead to five, with Luizzi,
Ruby Dasaro, and
Samantha Lee each making a shot, while Taylor Salato made a layup to make the score 14-9. The rest of the first, the Warriors outscored the Owls by just one, 4-3, with the Owls' three points coming from
Avery Stewart converting on an and-one, as ECSU held on to a 18-12 lead heading into the second.
KSC got off to a slow start to the second quarter, as they only recorded two points from
Lilly Krysinski in the opening four minutes of the quarter, compared to five from ECSU as their lead increased to nine. Over the next two minutes, teams traded baskets back-and-forth, as Dasaro traded field goals with Julia Knowles and Luizzi traded threes with Kya Mayo. The rest of the opening half, the Warriors increased their lead to 14, as they went on a 7-2 run to close out the first half of play.
ECSU jumped out to their largest lead of the contest 2:56 into the third, as they opened the quarter on an 8-5 run, with Murray hitting a layup for the Owls and Stewart going 3-for-3 at the line, while Liv Cassesse accounted for five of the Warriors' eight. Stewart and Mayo traded baskets over the next three minutes, but in the final 4:04 of the third, KSC outscored ECSU 10-6 to cut into their lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Kiley Bundy recorded the first of the four points for the Owls, while
Angel Pillsbury added another jumper, and Luizzi added the final four to make the score 51-38 heading into the fourth.
Murray opened the fourth with a three on the Owls' first possession to cut the lead to 10, but the Warriors responded right back with Cassesse hitting a jump shot on the ensuing possession. ECSU increased their lead back to 15 at the halfway mark of the fourth as after Dasaro made a layup for KSC, Mayo and Cassesse combined for five points to put ECSU up 58-43 with five left to play. The rest of the quarter the Owls tried to claw their way back as they were able to cut the lead to seven with 1:19 remaining, thanks to a pair of free throws and three from Bundy and a three from Luizzi. Eventually the Owls comeback came up short as the Warriors hit their free throws in the final minutes and held on for the 62-54 win over KSC.
Inside the Paint
- With the loss, the Owls fall to 12-50 in the all-time series between the two teams.
- Coming into the game having made only 10 threes over their past five games combined, Eastern hit 10 in the win over KSC, on just 19 attempts.
- After coming very close numerous times previously this year, Luizzi recorded her first double-double on the year, with 15 points and 11 rebounds, coming from 5-for-10 from the field, 2-for-4 from three, and 3-for-6 at the line.
- KSC scored nearly half of their points in the paint, with 26, compared to just four points in the paint for the Warriors.
Up Next
Keene State is back at home for their next matchup, as they will host Western Connecticut State University on Thursday, January 16, at 4:00 PM.
Eastern Connecticut next plays at Vermont State University Castleton on Thursday, January 16, at 3:00 PM.
