WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Following a triple overtime defeat roughly 15.5 hours prior, the Owls were back on the court for the consolation game of the Morin Memorial Tournament against the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday morning. Brynn Rautiola returned to form for the Owls to lead KSC to a 63-50 victory with her 24 points and move to 4-2 on the season.

Records

• Keene State: 4-2
• Saint Joseph: 0-5

How it Happened


Despite the Blue Jays taking the lead with a three following a layup from Valerie Luizzi for the Owls, KSC responded back with 12 consecutive points over the following five minutes to retake the lead. Rautiola led the way with six of the 12 points, while Avery Stewart, Valerie Luizzi, and Sydney Cassidy all tallied a basket to round out the scoring over the five-minute span. Despite the hot streak for the Owls, they went quiet the rest of the quarter and USJ scored five to cut the Owls' lead to 14-8 heading into the second quarter.
 
USJ continued their scoring run at the end of the first quarter into the start of the second with eight more points, making it 13 points in a row as the Blue Jays retook the lead, 16-14, with 6:38 remaining in the opening half. Over the next 2:35 the Owls responded again with six consecutive points, led by four from Rautiola, to take a 20-16 lead. In the final four minutes of the half, USJ pulled within a pair heading into halftime as they outscored KSC 7-5, despite a three from Rautiola and layup from Cassidy as the Owls took their 25-23 lead into the half.
 
Luizzi opened the scoring in the second half with a basket, just as she did in the first half, but USJ scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game up at 27 apiece. Luizzi responded with a three on the Owls' ensuing possession, but USJ responded with a three of their own to tie the game at 30, a minute later. Over the next 1:24, KSC scored on three consecutive possessions, to just one layup from the Blue Jays, as Ruby Dasaro scored her first five points of the day to go with a layup from Cassidy to put KSC ahead 37-23 halfway through the third quarter. USJ scored their final basket of the third with 3:10 remaining to bring the game within three, but with five from Rautiola and four points from Dasaro, KSC tacked on nine consecutive points to take a 46-34 lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
KSC scored on three of their first five possessions of the fourth with Cassidy scoring a pair of baskets and Dasaro scoring the other to make it 15 consecutive points for the Owls and to increase the lead to 18 with 7:23 left to play. Sequoia Turcotte Briggs tried to bring the Blue Jays back with a pair of baskets, but Kiley Bundy responded for KSC with five points to increase the lead to 10 with 4:43 remaining. Over the next 2:37, Rautiola scored six more points for KSC to bring her total to 24 on the day, while Turcotte Briggs hit a three for USJ and the Owls lead increased to 22. The rest of the way USJ tacked on nine more points as the Owls easily coasted to a 63-50 victory.
 
Inside the Paint

• Keene State wins the first ever matchup between the two teams as the Owls earn the win in the consolation game of the Morin Memorial Tournament.
• Rautiola bounced back from the first game of the tournament tying Turcotte Briggs with 24 points, as she shot 8-for-14 from the field (57%) and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line to go with her nine rebounds.
• Cassidy followed up her 23 point and 11 rebound performance with 10 points and game-high 10 rebounds in the victory for the Owls for her second collegiate double-double.
• Dasaro and Luizzi both led the Owls with steals and assists as the duo both tallied a game-high four steals apiece and a game-high three assists apiece.

 
Up Next


Keene State returns home after their four consecutive games on the road with a matchup against Worcester State University on Tuesday, November 25, at 5:00 PM for their next contest.
Saint Joseph faces another Little East Conference opponent for their next contest as the Owls next take on Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday, November 25 at 4:00 PM.