KEENE, N.H. – Led by four starters in double digit scoring, the Keene State College women's basketball team pulled off the huge upset over the Corsairs of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, who were atop the Little East Conference heading into the game by a final score of 71-61.

Records

• Keene State: 12-12 (8-7 LEC)
• UMass-Dartmouth: 20-4 (13-2 LEC)

Highlights
Postgame Interview (Coach Boucher)
Postgame Interview (Samantha Lee)

How it Happened
KSC came out of the gates hot by scoring the first seven points of the game in the opening 2:11, with Valerie Luizzi scoring five for the Owls and Ruby Dasaro scoring the other basket as UMD then called a timeout to recollect. Matt Ducharme, the Corsairs' head coach, called a timeout for his team and it worked as UMD scored 10 straight points over the next 3:13, but Brynn Rautiola answered back with a three to tie the game up at 10 apiece with 4:05 remaining in the quarter. Neither team scored the rest of the quarter as the teams headed into the second quarter tied at 10.
 
Both teams traded four points in the opening 2:09 of the quarter, with Samantha Lee scoring her first four points for the Owls on the day. After the game was tied up at 14, KSC scored a pair of baskets on back-to-back possessions as Dasaro added another layup and after Lilly Krysinski grabbed a defensive rebound for KSC, she scored a basket on the other end of the court to put KSC up four. UMD added a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions shortly after to jump back ahead as the quarter reached the halfway point. The Owls retook the lead with under four minutes left in the half, as they scored seven straight coming from a three from Avery Stewart, a jumper from Lee and a layup from Angel Pillsbury for a five-point lead. UMD added a pair of baskets on their last two possessions to cut the Owls' lead to one, up 25-24, heading into the half after Teja Andrews made a layup at the buzzer for the Corsairs.
 
Andrews opened the second half with another layup to give UMD the lead back. Dasaro answered right back for the Owls with five points from a pair of free throws and by converting on an and-one, to put KSC back ahead with 7:24 left in the quarter. After UMD tried to cut into the lead again with another basket, but KSC scored six more points in a row with four from Dasaro and another basket from Lee. The scoring opened up for both teams over the next two minutes, as they combined to score on six of the seven possessions, with UMD scoring six to five from KSC from a three from Rautiola and a jump shot from Luizzi. KSC increased their lead to nine with Lee and Rautiola hitting both of their free throws, but UMD went on a 6-1 run to end the quarter, to cut the lead to four heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
Both teams traded baskets on their opening possessions of the final quarter as Stewart scored for KSC, but UMD was able to outscore the Owls, 5-2, as the clock reached seven minutes remaining to cut the KSC lead to one. Luizzi increased the lead back to three for KSC, but Jemima Joseph responded right back for the Corsairs as she converted an and-one and then hit a three on the next possession to put UMD up by three with 5:04 remaining. Over the next three minutes, both teams were unable to hit a shot from the field, as KSC scored six points, all from the line. Rautiola scored four and Lee scored her two as they went 6-for-6 at the line over the span, to put the Owls back ahead by three. The Owls continued their run over the next minute, outscoring the Corsairs, 6-1, with Lee, Rautiola, and Luizzi each tallying a pair to put the Owls ahead by eight with a minute left on the clock. In the final minute of the game, UMD was unable to get within eight points, as anytime they scored and intentionally fouled KSC, the Owls took advantage of it, going 7-for-8 at the line in the final minute. KSC outscored UMD 7-5 in the final minute, with Luizzi tallying one, Lee finishing with two more, and Rautiola scoring the Owls' final four to give KSC a 71-61 win over the top-seeded Corsairs in LEC play.
 
Inside the Paint

• With the win, KSC improves to 37-23 in the all-time series against the Corsairs, ending the six-game losing skid.
• Rautiola finished with a game-high 18 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line.
• Lee tallied 16, from 4-for-7 (57.1%) from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line and five rebounds, while Dasaro tallied 15 points on 5-for-9 (55.5%) from the field, and 5-for-6 from the line to go with her seven rebounds.
• Luizzi rounded out the Owls' scorers in double figured with 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
• UMD capitalized on KSC turnovers, as the Corsairs scored 24 on the Owls' 22 turnovers, while KSC scored 13 on UMD's 18 turnovers.
• 67 of the 71 points (94.4%) on the day came from the Owls' starters.

 
Up Next


Keene State will round out their 2025 regular season LEC play with a game on the road against Rhode Island College on Saturday, February 22, at 1:00 PM, as the Owls will look for another upset with the Anchorwomen being 13-2 in LEC play, tied with UMD.
UMass-Dartmouth's next contest is their senior day, as they also play on Saturday, February 22, at 1:00 PM, and host the Western Connecticut State University Wolves for the Corsairs' senior day.