PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Despite a strong third quarter from the Keene State College women's basketball team, the Owls' lead slipped away in the fourth as the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen hit a late free throw and held KSC down on their final possession, handing KSC the 63-62 defeat.

Records

• Keene State: 10-5 (4-2 LEC)
• Rhode Island College: 10-4 (4-2 LEC)

How it Happened


RIC made a pair of baskets to open the scoring in the first three minutes of the contest to take a 4-0 lead, but the Owls responded right back with two baskets of their own with Kiley Bundy hitting a three and Brynn Rautiola making a layup to put KSC ahead by one. Over the next three minutes, both teams traded the lead five times as RIC pulled ahead 10-9 with 2:39 remaining in the first. The rest of the opening quarter, RIC scored on two more consecutive possessions, making it four in a row, while Nicole Norton scored five for KSC and Ruby Dasaro made a layup to pull KSC within a point heading into the second, 15-14.
 
RIC opened the second quarter scoring on their first two possessions, increasing the lead to six, but following a pair of made free throws from Valerie Luizzi shortly after, RIC made another two baskets to increase their lead to eight, 4:18 into the quarter. Baskets by Luizzi and Rautiola on back-to-back possessions for the Owls brought the Owls within four, but RIC increased it back to a nine-point lead a minute and a half later with two more baskets in a row for the Anchorwomen. As the teams continued to trade blows back and forth, Bundy hit a three and Luizzi grabbed an offensive rebound on the following KSC possession and made both the ensuing free throws to pull KSC within four with 2:31 remaining. The remainder of the opening half, RIC added four points, compared to two from a basket from Avery Stewart for the Owls, giving the Anchorwomen a 33-27 lead heading into the half.
 
The Owls' third quarter was by far their best of the day as they outscored RIC 20-13 over the 10 minutes of action. Although the best overall outcome of a quarter coming in the third for the Owls, it did not seem like it at first as RIC opened the third on a 10-5 run, scoring on four of their five opening possessions of the quarter and increasing their lead to as many as 12 as the Anchorwomen moved their lead to 43-32 2:44 into the quarter. Luizzi responded strong soon after for the Owls, accounting for eight of the Owls next nine points in a row. After hitting a pair of threes, Luizzi came away with a steal on defense and assisted Norton for a layup, while Dasaro added a steal and a free throw shortly after to pull KSC within a pair with 2:58 remaining in the third. After RIC increased their lead back to four, Luizzi again helped KSC pull closer as she assisted Stewart on another basket for the Owls. The rest of the third, KSC outscored RIC 4-1 with Dasaro making another layup and Bundy going 2-for-3 at the line to give the Owls a 47-46 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the day.
 
KSC continued to build on their momentum into the fourth quarter as the Owls scored on two possessions to increase the lead to as many as six and then had an answer for every shot from RIC over the first few minutes of the quarter. Dasaro assisted on the first two baskets for the Owls in the fourth as Rautiola opened the scoring with a layup and Luizzi followed with a three to put KSC ahead by six. Then, RIC hit a three to cut the lead to three, but Stewart answered right back for the Owls, and after the Anchorwomen hit another three, Bundy responded right back to increase the lead back to six once again with 6:45 left to play. It took a bit to get going, but the Anchorwomen finally bounced back over the next two minutes, scoring three baskets to tie the game up at 58 apiece with 4:39 remaining. Neither team was able to score for over the next two minutes, until Rautiola made a free throw to put the Owls up one, but the Anchorwomen answered right back with a pair of field goals to take a 62-59 lead with 45 seconds remaining. Following a timeout from the Owls, the play that KSC drew up worked perfect for Luizzi as she hit a three with 30 seconds remaining to tie the contest up at 62 apiece. On the final possession for RIC on the day, a foul was called as Abby Wagner charged towards the basket with nine seconds remaining. After missing the first attempt, she made the second free throw to put RIC up by one with the Owls having no timeouts remaining. After the ball came loose and KSC inbounded from under RIC's basket, Bundy got the inbound pass and with under two seconds remaining had to take a deep three but her shot missed the target and the Anchorwomen held on for the 63-62 victory.
 
Inside the Paint

• KSC falls to 28-33 in the all-time series between the two teams, having lost the 16 most recent matchups.
• Luizzi led all scorers in the contest with 20 points, to go with her team-high eight boards, four assists, three steals, and a block for the Owls.
• Stewart led all participants with 39 minutes played as she had 10 points to go with five rebounds, while Luizzi and Bundy played 38 minutes apiece where Bundy scored 13.
• Dasaro had a well-rounded game for the Owls tallying five points, five steals, four rebounds, and seven assists in the defeat.
• Luizzi moved into 18th with her 20 points, passing three Owls on the scoring list in the contest, bringing her career total to 1,049 points.
• KSC capitalized on RIC's 22 turnovers, scoring 19 points off turnovers, compared to RIC scoring 13 off 13 turnovers from the Owls.

 
Up Next


Keene State hits the road for their next contest, coming at Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday, January 12, at 2:00 PM.
RIC plays on the road at Connecticut College on Tuesday, January 13, at 5:00 PM for their next game.