BOSTON, Mass. – Despite going up by as many as 14 in the second quarter, the Keene State College women's basketball team gave up the lead in the third, being outscored by the University of Massachusetts-Boston 22-8 but prevailed in the final quarter for the 56-52 victory over the Beacons to complete the season sweep.

Records

• Keene State: 13-5 (7-2 LEC)
• UMass-Boston: 11-7 (5-4 LEC)

How it Happened


The Owls got off to a slow start over the first two minutes of action where Brynn Rautiola hit a three for the Owls' only three points, while UMB scored on three of their four opening possessions to jump to a 7-3 lead. After a slow start, the Owls bounced right back by scoring 14 points in a row over the next seven minutes, with a balanced scoring with Valerie Luizzi and Ruby Dasaro leading the charge with four points apiece. Dasaro also had a pair of steals over the seven-minute span, leading to a pair of baskets for the Owls, while the other six points came from a free throw from Rautiola, a field goal from Sydney Cassidy, and Angel Pillsbury's first three of the day to put the Owls ahead by 10 with 1:16 remaining in the first. UMB added one more basket with 45 seconds left in the quarter to cut the lead to eight, but with a block from each Dasaro and Luizzi, the Owls took their eight-point lead into the second.
 
KSC opened the scoring in the second thanks to their defense as Rautiola came away with a steal and scored a layup, followed by a steal by Kiley Bundy 30 seconds later, leading to a three from another three from Pillsbury to go ahead by 13. UMB scored on the ensuing possession, but the Owls responded back a few minutes later with a three from Avery Stewart to increase the lead to 14. The remainder of the opening half, UMB added a pair of baskets, while Rautiola added another three as just 17 points were scored by the two teams in the second quarter, giving KSC a 28-15 lead heading into the half.
 
The Beacons stormed back in the third quarter, outscoring the Owls 22-8 over the 10 minutes of action, storming back to retake the lead and go back up by as many as four in the quarter. UMB outscored the Owls 10-2 over their first four possessions of the third, to cut the lead down to five, 2:16 into the second half. A minute later, the Owls increased the lead back to eight with a layup from Stewart and a Dasaro steal leading to a Rautiola free throw, but UMB continued to apply the pressure, scoring seven points across their three next possessions to cut the lead to one. UMB added five more points over the next four minutes, increasing their scoring run to 12 in a row as the Beacons jumped ahead by four with under a minute remaining in the quarter. On the Owls' final possession of the quarter, following a block from Luizzi, Bella Schultz-Mitchell converted on an and-one to bring the Owls within a point heading into the fourth.
 
UMB opened the fourth scoring on their first possession, but within the next two minutes, the Owls answered right back with a three from each Luizzi and Bundy (from Luizzi) to retake the lead 42-39 with 8:21 remaining. Luizzi added another assist after grabbing an offensive rebound as Pillsbury made a three, and a minute later, a Bundy steal led to another basket by Pillsbury to make it 11 consecutive points for KSC to go up by eight with 6:13 remaining. Both teams converted on second chance opportunities on each of their next possessions, with Sibayla Jensen grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring for the Beacons, while Bundy grabbed the offensive board for KSC and then hit a three to increase the lead to nine with 5:26 remaining. Both offenses slowed down over the next two minutes as UMB scored a pair of baskets in as many minutes, cutting the lead to five with under three minutes remaining. After Luizzi assisted Dasaro on a three with 2:29 remaining, UMB scored on their next three offensive possessions as the Beacons pulled within one with 45 seconds remaining. Just as she has done her four years as an Owl, Luizzi played a huge part in the Owls' win as she made a free throw and then stole the ball on the ensuing Beacon possession, leading to Rautiola making a pair of free throws at the line to increase the lead to four with 11 seconds remaining. The Beacons couldn't get a clean shot off the remainder of the contest as Rautiola blocked their last chance, giving the Owls their 56-52 victory.
 
Inside the Paint

• KSC improves to 43-17 (71.7%) in the all-time series between the two teams, having won the three most recent matchups.
• Rautiola led the Owls on the attack again with 12 points, with Pillsbury close behind with her season-high of 11 points. Rautiola moved into sixth place on the all-time scoring list in program history as she reached 1,310 career points in the contest.
• Luizzi finished the day with eight points to go with her game-highs of each four assists and four blocks, to go with her tying for the team-high of three steals.
• Stewart and Dasaro both scored seven points apiece, while Dasaro tacked on three steals to go with her game-high 10 boards.
• UMB had double the Owls points in the paint, scoring 32 to 16, while the Owls capitalized more on UMB turnovers, scoring 17 points on 19 UMB turnovers, while the Beacons scored just 12 on 23 KSC turnovers.

 
Up Next


Keene State returns home for their next contest as the Owls take on Vermont State University Castleton on Tuesday, January 27, at 5:30 PM.
UMass-Boston returns to action on the road at the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday, January 28, at 5:30 PM for their next matchup.