JOHNSON, Vt. – Shortly after junior Samantha Lee won the tipoff and made a free throw, the Keene State College women's basketball team would lead the rest of the way and never look back, racing to a 98-45 victory over Vermont State University Johnson at Carter Gymnasium Tuesday night.  The Owls' offensive output was the highest in a single game in nearly 10 years, since KSC defeated Lasell University 108-62 on January 9, 2014.

Records

• Keene State: 4-2
• Vermont State Johnson: 1-5

How it Happened

The Owls picked up right where they left off in their previous game against Worcester State, coming out of the gates hot and outscoring the Badgers 34-12 over the opening 10 minutes. Keene State began the game on a 25-4 run, with Valerie Luizzi logging nine first quarter points and shooting a perfect 4-for-4 for from the field to go with a pair of steals in the opening minutes. Jackie Alibrandi also made all four of her shots from the field early on for a quick eight points.  Gabby Wardwell led Johnson in the first quarter, scoring seven of her team's 12 points to go with three rebounds, but the Badgers saw the Owls shoot 68.4 percent (13-19) and make three of their first five shots from three.
 
In the second quarter, the Owls opened on a 13-0 burst over the first 5:20 to make it 47-12, and that was the continual story of KSC's runaway victory.  Johnson did not score in the period until Faith Benjamin made a jump shot for her first points of the game with 4:17 left before Lee scored four of the Owls' seven points in the final minutes of the first half, finishing with six points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists in the second quarter. Wardwell scored the lone basket for the Badgers through the rest of the half, as she grabbed an offensive rebound and put it right back up and in for Johnson. Brynn Rautiola logged five more points in the second quarter after scoring five in the first, to go with her three assists and three steals through the first half of the contest, as the Owls took a 55-16 lead into halftime.  She continued an impressive start to her career by making six of eight threes on the night and making 8-of-13 from the field for a team-best 24 points in only 17 minutes to lead four in double-figures.
 
Keene State didn't stop after the break, maintaining the pressure and outscoring VTSJ 36-14 in the third quarter, beginning on another expanded run – this one 19-4 – over the first four minutes.  Rautiola scored eight of the teams 19 points on the run and finished the quarter with 14 points. Wardwell scored both baskets for the Badgers in the opening minutes of the third and would finish the quarter with 10 points. The Owls would score 17 to the Badgers' 10 through the rest of the quarter, as Avery Stewart led the Owls with six points over the span, as KSC went into the fourth quarter up 91-30.
 
In the final 10 minutes of play, the Owls would have their largest lead of the contest after Angel Pillsbury knocked down a three-pointer shortly after the quarter started, giving KSC a 94-30 lead. Both teams traded baskets shortly after, as Sasha Khomutetsky made a layup for the Panthers, followed by Luizzi's layup for the Owls. After Luizzi's layup at the 8:38 mark, Johnson would go on a 13-2 run through the rest of the quarter, with Wardwell tallying five of the teams' points over the span, to bring her total to 24 on the day.
 
Luizzi finished 8-for-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from deep to add 19 points for KSC, while Lee had 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-5 FT) and Jackie Alibrandi 14 (7-10) to go along with seven rebounds.
 
Inside the Paint

• The Owls 98 points in the victory was the most scored points in a game in nearly 10 years. 
• The last time the Owls scored 36 points in a quarter was back in the 2017-2018 season against Western Connecticut State University on February, when they scored 36 in the second of a 95-79 win over the Wolves.
• Rautiola and Wardwell both finished the game with 24 points, with Rautiola shooting 8-13 from the field, including 6-8 from beyond the arc and a perfect 2-2 at the line, and Wardwell shot 11-18 from the field and 2-10 from the free-throw line. Rautiola played only 17 minutes to Wardwell's 27 minutes in the contest. Wardwell also grabbed 22 rebounds. 
• Three other Owls finished with double digit scoring, as Luizzi logged 19 points (8-13 from the field and 3-5 on three pointers), Lee scored 15 (6-9 from the field and 3-5 from the line), and Alibrandi finished with 14 points (7-10 from the field).
• The Owls shot 50.7% (38-75) from the field, including 48% (12-25) from three, while the Badgers shot 38.8% (19-49) from the field and 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Up Next

• Keene State's next game is on Saturday, December 2 at 1:00 p.m. as they kick off Little East Conference play against the University of Southern Maine (1-5).
• Vermont State Johnson will travel to face Eastern Nazarene College (4-3) on Friday (December 1) at 6:00 p.m.