KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College women's basketball team was unable to overcome a strong first half from the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen, as they were outscored 35-20, and only got within five points in the second half as RIC ran away late in the game for a 68-49 win over the Owls.

Records

• Keene State: 7-9 (3-4 LEC)
• Rhode Island College: 11-5 (6-1 LEC)

How it Happened


RIC jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Madison Medbury made a free throw 1:38 into the game and on the ensuing possession for the Owls Ruby Dasaro assisted Valerie Luizzi to give the Owls a 2-1 lead. The Owls' only lead of the game only lasted 25 seconds as Medbury hit two more free throws to retake the lead. The scoring the rest of the quarter slowed down after Emma Tenters made a layup from an offensive rebound with 5:59 left in the first, as neither team scored until over four minutes later when Avery Stewart made a free throw for KSC to cut the lead to 5-3. Medbury made a layup with 1:29 left in the first and after Brynn Rautiola cut the Anchorwomen's lead to one with a three pointer, Jaina Yekelchik responded right back with one of her own to give RIC a 10-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Medbury continued to rack up the points for RIC as she scored nine of her team's 11 straight points to open the scoring in the second quarter over the first 3:42 and bringing her total points scored in the opening 14 minutes to 14 points. Over the next 1:20, Kiley Bundy and Medbury combined for four three pointers apiece as both hit a pair on four consecutive combined possessions. With 4:17 in the first half, RIC's lead increased to 18 on a three from Yekelchik, but Luizzi made a free throw, followed by a layup, and then a three on consecutive possessions for KSC to cut the lead back down to 12. Meagan Schuermann scored five points for RIC the remainder of the half, compared to just two from the Owls, to give RIC a 35-20 lead heading into halftime.
 
Samantha Lee opened the second half with five points over the first two minutes after making a layup and then hitting her first three of the season as the shot clock expired. RIC only logged two points over the opening two minutes on a layup from Angelina Nardolillo, but she added another two points with a pair of free throws shortly after. Over the next 1:25 KSC scored five points, coming from a free throw from Rautiola, along with a layup from her and Dasaro, to just a layup for RIC to cut the lead to 11 with 5:33 left in the third. Over the next three and a half minutes, RIC was the only team to score, as they logged just a pair of free throws as the third started to come to an end. The Owls caught fire in the final two minutes of the quarter, as they were able to cut RIC's lead down to five. Luizzi grabbed an offensive rebound and then picked up an assist on Bundy's layup and on the ensuing possession for the Anchorwomen, Luizzi stole the ball from Tenters, which led to a three for Bundy soon after. On KSC's next possession they got within five as Bundy hit another three, but a free throw from Medbury in the closing seconds of the quarter gave RIC a 44-38 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Stewart opened the fourth to cut the lead back to five, but RIC responded with 13 straight points over the next four minutes, as they scored on five of their seven first possessions of the quarter. Both teams continued to pile on the points over the next two minutes, with each team scoring on their two possessions each for four points apiece. Stewart hit a three from Dasaro with 4:24 remaining, and then Dasaro made a layup herself soon after, but RIC also recorded five points as well over the same time, to maintain a 66-48 lead with 2:22 remaining. The rest of the way, Janae Gomes made a layup for the Anchorwomen and Anna Brown made a free throw, as RIC held on to their 68-49 lead after outscoring the Owls by 13 in the final quarter.
 
Inside the Paint

• With the loss, the Owls still trail the Wolves in the all-time series history, 28-31, having lost 15 meetings in a row.
• Bundy led the Owls with 14 points, as she shot 5-for-10 from the field and 4-for-8 from three.
• Luizzi scored 10 points to go with her team-high eight rebounds, and game-high of four steals.
• RIC capitalized on KSC's 18 turnovers by scoring 25 points, while KSC scored 12 points on RIC's 16 turnovers.

 
Up Next


Keene State hits the road for the next game, as they will travel to the (RV) University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Wednesday, January 22, at 5:30 PM
Rhode Island College next plays at home against Eastern Connecticut State University as they will also play on Wednesday, January 22, at 5:30 PM.