DARTMOUTH, Mass. – After a slow matchup earlier in the season back in Keene between the Keene State College and University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth women's basketball teams where the Owls won the low scoring contest 50-39, this time it was all the Corsairs as they defeated KSC on the wire-to-wire win, 88-48.

Records

• Keene State: 15-7 (9-4 LEC)
• UMass-Dartmouth: 9-13 (6-7 LEC)

How it Happened


UMD came out of the gates how, outscoring KSC 21-9 over the opening 10 minutes of the contest, including shooting 8-for-13 (61.5%) from the field and 4-for-6 (66.7%) from three. Melanie Demeo hit a three a minute into the contest to give UMD the lead, but nearly two minutes later, Ruby Dasaro made a layup to cut the lead down to one. Both teams traded threes as Demeo hit another and Brynn Rautiola pulled KSC back within one as she hit her 200th career three, becoming the seventh member in program history to reach the milestone. For the next two minutes following Rautiola's three, UMD went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-5 lead with three and a half minutes remaining in the first. The rest of the opening quarter the Corsairs went on a 7-4 run as Rautiola and Avery Stewart both hit a free throw for KSC, and Dasaro rounded out the Owls' nine points in the opening quarter with a layup.
 
UMD once again tacked on 21 points over the second quarter of action, just as they did in the first, but KSC logged 16 points, bettering their nine points from the first quarter. The Corsairs opened the first three minutes of the second quarter on a 9-3 run, with the Owls' lone basket coming on a three from Valerie Luizzi as UMD increased their lead to 30-12. Both teams traded four points apiece over the next three minutes as Kiley Bundy added a three and a free throw later in the quarter for the Owls, and Kasey Oliver scored on back-to-back possessions for UMD to keep the lead at 18. Both teams continued to trade four points apiece over the next minute as the contest as under three minutes remained in the opening half. In the last two minutes in the first half, Rautiola tacked on a layup and a three with under 10 seconds remaining to outscore UMD 5-4 and bring the Owls within 17 heading into the half.
 
The third quarter went just like the first for the Owls as it was all UMD with the Corsairs outscoring KSC 25-8 with UMD having their best shooting quarter of the day going 9-for-14 (64.3%) from the field and 5-for-7 (71.4%) from three, compared to KSC going 3-for-13 (23.1%) from the field and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Both teams traded a basket early in the third with Cristina Negron hitting a three for UMD on their first possession of the second half and Dasaro making another fastbreak layup shortly after, but following Dasaro's basket, UMD went on a 12-0 run over the next six minutes to jump to a 57-27 lead. Rautiola ended the scoring run with a layup after grabbing an offensive board with 3:19 remaining in the third, but UMD answered right back with a three on the ensuing possession to bring the lead back to 31. In the final three minutes of the quarter UMD went on a 7-4 run with Rautiola tallying all four points for KSC as the Corsairs took their 67-33 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.
 
UMD opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run over the first four minutes of the quarter and it was not until there was 4:57 remaining in the contest where the Owls got on the board with a pair of free throws made by Bella Schultz-Mitchell. Schultz-Mitchell tacked on another basket just over a minute later, but UMD scored seven points across three consecutive possessions to bring the lead to 82-37 with 3:32 remaining. Over the next minute, Schultz-Mitchell tacked on another five points, making it nine points for her scored for the Owls in a row as she brought KSC within 42 with 2:28 left on the clock. The remainder of the contest KSC outscored UMD 6-4 with Charlotte Buckley making a pair of baskets and Anna Brown adding another as UMD held on for their 88-48 victory.
 
Inside the Paint

• KSC falls to 38-25 in the all-time series with the Corsairs in the defeat, with each team winning two of the four most recent matchups.
• Rautiola led KSC on the attack with 15 points as she hit her 200th career three, making two of five (40%) from deep in the contest.
• Schultz-Mitchell tied her career-high 11 points in the game, while Dasaro was close behind with eight points.
• Dasaro's two steals in the contest bring her season total to 66 steals on the 2025-2026 season as she moves into tied for eighth place with Tina Gonyea (1988-1989 season) for the most steals in a season in program history.
• KSC's shooting percentage of 28.8% (17-for-59) is the second worst on the season for the Owls, while the Corsairs' shooting percentage of 56.9% (33-for-58) from the field and 52.4% (11-for-21) from three were both by far the best shooting percentages by a KSC opponent this season.
• Both teams recorded 20 turnovers in the contest, but the Owls only scored 11 points off turnovers, while UMD scored 26 points off turnovers.

 
Up Next


Keene State returns home for their next contest for an important LEC matchup against Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, February 14, at 1:00 PM.
UMass-Dartmouth also returns to action on Saturday, February 14, at 1:00 PM as the Corsairs have their Senior Day against the University of Southern Maine.