KEENE, N.H. – Despite a slow start for the Keene State College women's basketball team in the opening quarter, the Owls bounced back in the second quarter to tie the contest at 43 at the half and used a strong second half to take down Worcester State University, 78-70, to move to 5-2 heading into the Thanksgiving break.

Records

• Keene State: 5-2
• Worcester State: 3-4

How it Happened


Brynn Rautiola scored her first two of 28 points on the day two minutes into the contest, but following her basket, the Lancers went on a 15-0 run over the next four minutes, scoring on seven of eight possessions, for a 15-2 lead with 3:49 remaining in the opening quarter. KSC responded with six consecutive points on across three of four possessions with Rautiola making her two free throws, Nicole Norton making a steal leading to Ruby Dasaro's layup, followed by Bella Schultz-Mitchell causing a steal on the Owls' press that led to her first basket of the contest to bring KSC within seven with under three minutes remaining. Just as the quarter has been a story of each team going on a run, the Lancers answered back on a nine-point run across five consecutive possessions over the next two minutes to increase their lead to 16. Rautiola tacked on another pair of baskets with the help from a steal from Avery Stewart that cut the lead to 24-12 for WSU heading into the second quarter.
 
For the third time this season, the Owls scored over 30 points across a 10-minute quarter as KSC tallied 31 points in the second quarter to come back from their 12-point deficit at the end of the opening quarter. WSU scored on four of their first six possessions of the quarter, while KSC only scored on two of their first six with Rautiola and Luizzi each making a layup leading to WSU's lead increasing back to 16 three minutes into the second. The Owls started to find their groove their next 12 possessions as they scored on nine of them over the next 3:50. The Owls' defense held strong over the span as they caused five turnovers on consecutive possessions from the Lancers and six total with Luizzi leading the way with three steals for KSC. Over the 3:50 KSC outscored WSU 16-6, led by six points from Rautiola, three from Dasaro and Cassidy, and two from each Luizzi and Savanna Scali to pull within six. After the Lancers made a pair of free throws over the next 50 seconds, KSC hit threes on back-to-back possessions to pull within two with under two minutes remaining in the half as Rautiola assisted Schultz-Mitchell on the first of the pair and Scali assisted Luizzi for the second. Both teams traded threes with under a minute left as Hannah Lomonaco scored for WSU and Kiley Bundy scored for KSC with 37 seconds left. In the closing seconds, Rautiola stole the ball from the Lancers and hit a layup at the buzzer to tie the contest up at 43 apiece to erase the deficit for KSC.
 
Luizzi opened the scoring in the third quarter, followed by a layup from Dasaro as KSC took a 48-43 lead two minutes into the third. Over the next four minutes WSU outscored the Owls 6-2 as they pulled within a point, as Rautiola scored the lone basket for the Owls. The Lancers went on a 7-5 run over the next two minutes to retake the lead as Rautiola's four points and one from Dasaro were not enough to keep WSU from taking the lead back for the moment. As the third quarter started to wind down, the Owls scored on their final three possessions with Norton, Luizzi, and Scali each making a field goal as the Owls took a 61-56 lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
The Owls built off their run of five points in a row to end the third with six points to open the fourth quarter, making it six of seven consecutive possessions that the Owls scored their 11 points in a row. Rautiola opened the scoring in the fourth with a pair of free throws, followed by Schultz-Mitchell's three and a free throw from Scali to go ahead by 11 with 8:28 remaining. Over the next 3:44 of action, WSU started to try to mount a comeback on an 8-3 run as Luizzi hit her 150th career three for the Owls, while the Lancers pulled within six with under five minutes remaining. The Lancers' run did not last long as the Owls responded right back with six consecutive points across scoring on three of four possessions, with Rautiola, Cassidy, and Stewart each scoring a pair of points to increase the lead back to 12 with 3:11 remaining. The closest the Lancers got the rest of the way was within eight points, as they scored on their final possession on a 6-2 run the remainder of the contest as the Owls held strong for the 78-70 victory.
 
Inside the Paint

• Keene State improves to 11-7 in the all-time series between the two teams as the Owls rebounded to their 63-54 loss to WSU last season.
• Rautiola once again led KSC on the attack with a game-high 28 points as she moves into 15th in program history for career points with 1,117.
• Rautiola missed her first free throw on the season in the contest as she opened the year making 20 consecutive free throws and now sits at 28-29 (96.6%) on the year, along with sitting in seventh place in program history with 271 free throws made and is 100 away from setting the program record.
• Luizzi finished the contest with 17 points to move her career total points to 941 (23rd in program history) as she inches her way closer to the 1,000-point club. She also finished the contest with a game-high six steals to become the 12th Owl to reach the 150-career steal mark as she sits at 153 career steals currently.
• Rautiola, Luizzi, Dasaro, and Scali each finished the game with a pair of assists.
• Dasaro nearly finished with a double-double as she recorded eight points and eight boards.
• Alana Smith recorded a double-double for the Lancers with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

 
Up Next


Keene State hits the road for their next contest as the Owls kick off their Little East Conference schedule at the University of Vermont State Castleton on Wednesday, December 3 at 5:30 PM.
Worcester State returns to conference play as they take on Springfield College on the road on December 2, at 7:00 PM.