KEENE, N.H. – Taking the court anywhere for the first time since January 23 and their home court for the first time since February 22 of last year, the Keene State College women's basketball team outscored Castleton University 15-7 over the final 10 minutes to grind out a 46-44 Little East Conference win over the Spartans Wednesday evening at Spaulding Gymnasium.
 
Records

• Keene State:  1-1, 1-1 LEC
• Castleton:  1-3, 0-3 LEC

 
How It Happened
The Owls got off to a strong start, building a 16-12 lead after one, but then labored, scoring only 15 points over the next two quarters combined.  They came alive again at precisely the right time, bursting out of the fourth quarter gates with an 11-0 run to turn a 37-31 deficit into a 42-37 lead over the opening 5:40, holding Castleton scoreless for a stretch of over six and a half minutes and to a 3-for-17 showing from the floor in the final 10 minutes.  Freshman Jackie Alibrandi, who finished with 11 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal, sparked the surge by draining a triple on KSC's opening possession of the final quarter and then followed with an old-fashioned three-point play on the next possession as she was fouled by Taylor Goodell while making a layup.  Michelle LaBonte connected on one of her three long-range makes a little over a minute later to put the Owls in front 40-37 with 7:28 to go, and despite not scoring again until a 4:20 remained, two free throws by sophomore Hailey Derosia helped KSC match their largest lead of the game (42-37) that they had previously built in the second quarter.
 
A layup by Rylee Burgess off a feed from Derosia with 3:20 remaining still had Keene State in front 44-39, but Castleton had chances down the stretch, getting back within one after consecutive baskets by Gwyn Tatton.  After Katie Sullivan went 1-for-2 at the line to make it 45-43 KSC with 1:35 on the clock, the Spartans missed their next three shots with a chance to tie or take the lead.  Still leading by that same score with a five-second differential in the clocks following Sullivan's steal of Olivia Perry, the Owls could not convert, giving CU another chance to tie or win.  Burgess was called for a foul while Elise Magro, who had a game-high 18 points (7-17 FG), was taking a jumper with 3.3 to go, but the Spartan sophomore needed to make both free throws to tie and was too strong on the second one.  Alibrandi rebounded the miss and was fouled with 1.9 on the clock.  She made the first free throw and missed the second, but time expired well before Castleton could get a shot off.
 
The Spartans overcame an early 19-14 deficit by scoring eight consecutive points over a five-minute span of the second quarter, the last of which coming as a result of Brooke Raiche's transition layup that made her the 17th member of the Castleton women's basketball 1,000 point club.  She needed nine coming into the game to reach 1,000 career points, and thanks to 44 percent shooting and 18 combined points from her and Magro, Castleton led 24-22 at halftime.  KSC scored the opening basket of the second half 20 seconds in on an acrobatic layup by Alibrandi, but never did lead again until their fourth quarter uprising.
 
Derosia finished with a team-best 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal on the evening for the Owls.  Alibrandi made 4-of-7 shots and scored all 11 of her points after halftime.  KSC got nine points each from LaBonte, who also had eight rebounds, and Burgess.
 
Inside the Paint

• The Owls had 10 assists on their 17 made field goals in the game.  They also finished with nine steals (three each from Sullivan and LaBonte) and forced 20 turnovers.
• The win was the first for KSC over Castleton since the Spartans joined the Little East Conference.  The Owls won the first three all-time matchups – two before the Division III era – but had lost five in a row in the series, two by a combined 10 points and one in overtime.

Up Next

• Keene State has a home-and-home set with UMass-Dartmouth (2-3, 2-2 LEC) this weekend.  The first of the pair is Saturday (February 20) in North Dartmouth, Mass. at 12:30 p.m.
• Castleton travels to Rhode Island College (5-0, 5-0 LEC) on the same day for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.  It will be the Spartans' fourth and final road game, compared to one at home, on the season.