WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Looking to avenge their playoff loss on the road to Eastern Connecticut State University to end their 2024 season, the Keene State College women's basketball team went and did exactly that, as the Owls defeated the Warriors 56-45 to move on to the Little East Conference Semifinals on Thursday night.

Records

• Keene State: 13-13 (8-8 LEC)
• Eastern Connecticut State: 11-15 (10-6 LEC)

How it Happened


Both teams started the contest on the slower end, as the opening quarter was the lowest scoring quarter on the day with 19 combined points. Both teams traded baskets in the opening 1:30 of play as Taylor Salato put ECSU ahead, but Ruby Dasaro answered right back for KSC with a basket on the Owls' next possession. Soon after, both teams traded baskets again as Avery Stewart made a layup for the Owls and Julia Knowles responded with a layup herself to tie the game up once again. After the quarter reached its halfway point, the rest of the points in the first were scored over a 1:51 span as ECSU tallied six points, including four from Salato, while KSC recorded five with Dasaro making a layup and Valerie Luizzi hitting her first three of the day as ECSU took a 10-9 lead into the second quarter.
 
Kya Mayo opened the scoring in the second quarter with a pair of three pointers on the Warriors' first two possessions to increase their lead to seven points, 1:29 into the quarter. Brynn Rautiola finally got on the board for KSC on the ensuing possession for the Owls with a layup, but Mayo answered right back with an and-one to increase the lead back to eight for ECSU. Over the next four minutes, KSC scored seven points in a row with Samantha Lee scoring five and Dasaro adding a layup to cut the lead to one. The Warriors added one more basket with 2:10 to go, but Lee made a pair of free throws and Luizzi hit a layup at the halftime buzzer to give KSC a 22-21 lead heading into the halftime break.
 
After scoring 22 points in the first 20 minutes of play so far in the game, the Owls' attack exploded in the third quarter by scoring 23 points in the 10 minutes of play. Dasaro opened the scoring for the Owls on their first two possessions of the second half by hitting a three from Luizzi and then adding a layup on the next possession. Over the next 10 combined possessions for the teams, they combined to score on seven of the ten. While ECSU scored on three of their five possessions for six points, KSC scored on four of their five, totaling 11 points. Rautiola made a layup and a three, followed by a pair of threes for Luizzi, to increase the Owls lead to 11, up 38-27 with 6:04 left in the quarter. Dasaro added another layup a minute later to increase the lead to 13, but Salato scored a pair of baskets to cut the lead back down to nine. With 3:12 left in the third, Stewart hit a three for KSC and both teams traded a pair of points in the closing 38 seconds as Luizzi's layup put KSC up 45-33 heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation for one of the teams for their 2024-2025 season.
 
Salato opened the final quarter with a free throw on the Warriors' opening possession, but Aryanna Murray got on the board for the Owls on the 8:38 mark for KSC to increase the lead back up to 13. Nearly a minute later, Mayo responded with a three, but Ruby and Dasaro scored on back-to-back possessions shortly after to increase the lead to 14 with 6:07 remaining on the clock. Over the next 3:26, ECSU scored six points in a row to cut the Owls lead to 51-43 with 2:41 remaining, but that is as close as the Warriors would get to the Owls as they missed their next two shots and started to intentionally foul KSC. Dasaro made both her free throws to increase the lead back to double digits and on the ensuing possession for KSC, Luizzi hit the dagger as the broadcasters described it as a "Curry Night Night" shot to put the final nail in the coffin. Salato scored on the Warriors' final possession to cap off a great career for the Warriors, but in the end, KSC came out on top and continues to stay alive with the 56-45 win.
 
Inside the Paint

• With the win, KSC improved to 13-51 against ECSU in the all-time series, snapping their three-game losing streak, dating back to their 43-38 loss to the Warriors back on February 20, 2024, in the First Round of the Little East Tournament.
• Dasaro finished with a team-high 17 points from 6-for-15 (40%) from the field, including a three, to go with 4-for-4 at the line. She also almost recorded her first collegiate double-double as she finished with a career-high nine rebounds (three offensive boards). Not only did Dasaro almost record a double-double, but she almost recorded a triple-double, as she also recorded seven assists for the Owls
• Luizzi recorded her second double-double of the season as she recorded 16 points including 4-for-11 (36.4%) from three to go with 10 rebounds (three offensive rebounds) on the day, along with a pair of assists and steals in the win.
• Stewart tied Luizzi for the team-high of 10 rebounds, as she tallied seven points on the attack and recorded a pair of blocks on defense for KSC.
• KSC shot 9-for-19 (47.4%) from the field, including 5-for-9 (55.6%) from three in the third quarter as they scored 23 points.
• KSC took advantage of second chance points, as they scored 14 points, coming from 12 offensive rebounds, while ECSU grabbed 11 offensive boards but only scored six second chance points.
• KSC had their second-least turnovers on the season as they only recorded eight in the victory. The three games on the year that KSC had the least amount of turnovers have all come against ECSU, with seven back on February 12, eight in today's game, and 10 back on January 14.
• KSC's nine fouls were tied for the second least fouls in a game on the season.

 
Up Next


No. 5 Keene State moves on to take on the No. 1 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in their next matchup for the LEC Semifinals on Thursday, February 27, at 7:00 PM. KSC split the season series against the No. 1 seed in the conference and after making it out of the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2016-2017 season, the Owls will look to take the season series and move onto the championship for the first time since they won it all back in the 2016-2017 season (excluding the shortened format in the 2021 season due to the pandemic).
Eastern Connecticut State's season comes to a close as the Owls' got revenge for the Warriors' 2024 playoff elimination. The Warriors will lose two key seniors going into next year as Mayo finishes with 527 career points for the Warriors and Salato wraps up a great career as she reached the 1,000 point milestone, finishing with 1,227 points, good for 12th in program history, and 701 rebounds, just outside the top 10 in program history.