KEENE, N.H. – For all but 2:02 of the contest, the Keene State College women's basketball team maintained a lead over the University of Vermont State Castleton as the Owls overcame a first quarter slip to pull away the rest of the contest over the Spartans for the 74-66 win on the night.

Records

• Keene State: 14-5 (8-2 LEC)
• Castleton: 5-13 (1-9 LEC)

Highlights
Postgame Interview (Coach Boucher)
Postgame Interview (Valerie Luizzi)

How it Happened
KSC started hot as the Owls scored on every other possession to open the contest over the first 3:22 of the game. Brynn Rautiola opened the scoring for KSC with a pair of field goals, while Valerie Luizzi added a three and Avery Stewart converted on a second chance by grabbing an offensive board and scoring to put the Owls ahead 9-0. Over the next four minutes the Spartans went on a run of their own, scoring 10 consecutive points to take the lead from KSC. On the Owls' ensuing possession, Bella Schultz-Mitchell put KSC back up with a tip-in layup, but once again the Spartans answered back with a three to go back up by a pair with 1:49 remaining in the first. Later in the opening quarter, Luizzi and Schultz-Mitchell both scored field goals to put KSC back up a pair, but after Isabella Coombs tied the game again for Castleton, Luizzi beat the buzzer with a jump shot to put the Owls ahead by two heading into the second quarter.
 
Just as the Owls opened the first quarter hot, they did so in the second, scoring on five of their first six possessions, outscoring the Spartans 10-4. Luizzi opened the scoring in the second with a steal leading to a foul and her hitting both attempts at the line, followed by Savanna Scali assisting Sydney Cassidy on a layup and then a Cassidy steal leading to Luizzi assisting her on another basket to put KSC ahead by eight. Over the next four minutes, both teams traded baskets on four consecutive possessions with Emily Adams scoring four points for Castleton and Cassidy scoring four for KSC, making it eight consecutive points for Cassidy for the Owls. On the Owls' next two possessions over the next minute, an offensive tip-in for Dasaro resulted in an and-one which she converted, and a defensive block from Cassidy led to Rautiola assisting Luizzi on a three to put KSC ahead by 14. Over the following three minutes, Castleton outscored KSC 5-2, but the Owls edged the Spartans out 5-4 the remainder of the half with Stewart scoring four of the seven points for KSC, while Cassidy assisted Rautiola on a three to beat the buzzer at the half for the 40-29 lead.
 
Coombs opened the scoring in the second half for the Spartans and Dasaro answered right back for the Owls, scoring eight points across the Owls' next four possessions as she increased the lead to 15. The Spartans wouldn't go away as they went on an 11-0 run the next four minutes to pull within four. Rautiola's layup with 1:02 left in the third ended the Spartans' scoring run, but it was the last basket in the quarter, giving KSC a 50-44 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
 
Castleton cut the lead to three on a three from Isabelle Cole to open the scoring in the fourth, but the Owls responded back with eight points over the next two minutes with Luizzi assisting Schultz-Mitchell on a three, followed by a layup from Rautiola and a Dasaro steal leading to another Rautiola three to put KSC ahead by 11, forcing Castleton to call a timeout. Both teams traded baskets over the next four minutes with Castleton outscoring KSC 8-7 despite field goals from Kiley Bundy and Dasaro and a three from Luizzi to cut the Owls' lead to 10 with under four minutes remaining. The rest of the way, both teams continued to trade baskets back and forth as late in the contest, every time that Castleton scored, they fouled the Owls, but each time it resulted in Owls hitting their free throws and the Spartans barely making any progress as the Owls held on for the 74-66 victory.
 
Inside the Paint

• KSC improves to 11-7 in the all-time series between the two teams, having the seven most recent contests by an average margin of victory of eight.
• Dasaro led the Owls in scoring from her game-high and season-high 19 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 at the line. Dasaro also recorded four rebounds, to go with a pair of assists, a block and five steals. With her game-high five steals in the win, Dasaro brings her season total to 61, tied with Nicole Simmler (2007-2008 season) for the 12th-most steals in a season in program history.
• Rautiola and Luizzi were close behind with Rautiola scoring 17 points to go with her six rebounds and pair of assists, while Luizzi scored 15 points, had a game-high of four assists, to go with five rebounds and three steals.
• With her 17 points, Rautiola moves into third place in scoring from sixth place in program history, passing Judy Izzo '99 (1,321 career points), Sarah Begnoche '07 (1,325 career points), and Renee Bender-Bernier '90 (1,325 career points).
• Stewart finished the game with a game-high 12 rebounds, tying her season-high, to go with her six points.
• In her first start since December 6, Cassidy played 29 minutes, the third-most in a game on her freshman season across 12 games, while logging eight points, and six boards.
• Schultz-Mitchell shot 100% from the field for the third time in a game this season as she went 3-for-3 from the field, including 1-for-1 beyond the arc.
• KSC capitalized on the Spartans' 19 turnovers, scoring 23 points off turnovers, while Castleton scored seven points off seven KSC turnovers.
• The win gives KSC their fourth win in a row for the second time on the season.

 
Up Next


Keene State hits the road for their next contest at the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, January 31, at 1:00 PM with the Huskies currently sitting undefeated in LEC play in first place and receiving votes in the d3hoops.com top-25 rankings.
Castleton returns home for their next game as they take on Rhode Island College in their next matchup, also on Saturday, January 31, at 1:00 PM.