KEENE, N.H. – Hailey Derosia picked up where she left off last season, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with four assists, four rebounds, and two steals as the Keene State College women's basketball team made it a happy return to Spaulding Gymnasium, drubbing New England College 70-45 on Friday night in both teams' 2021-2022 opener.

Records

• Keene State:  1-0
• New England College:  0-1

How It Happened
The Pilgrims scored the game's opening basket on a triple by Kayla Goldring, but Jackie Alibrandi answered on the other end to tie the game, starting a 6-0 KSC spurt and the Owls never trailed again, pumping the lead up to as many as 12 in the opening quarter where they connected on 9-of-16 from the field.  NEC's Mariah Thomas canned a jumper about halfway through the second to bring her team within eight at 29-21, but Alibrandi, who made 3-of-8 from deep on the evening and scored 13 points (all in the first half on 4-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three), answered on the next possession.  T he Owls closed the half on a 7-0 run over the final 3:40 – with five of the points coming from Alibrandi – for a game-high 39-23 advantage.  KSC shot 52 percent (14-for-27) in the opening 20 minutes, making 5-of-11 from three-point range and all six free throw attempts.  Six different players recorded an assist for the Owls, who also amassed a 13-1 edge in second chance points and saw their bench outscore the Pilgrims' 16-2 in the first half.

Derosia put in a layup 18 seconds into the third quarter and, two possessions later, Michelle LaBonte a triple as Keene State made it 44-25 less than two minutes out of the locker room, but the Owls then went into a cold spell as NEC went on an 8-1 run.  KSC missed all six of their shots and had six turnovers over a six minute span in the period, but they used their defense that held the Pilgrims to 33 percent shooting in the quarter and 39.5 percent for the game to maintain a comfortable advantage.  Derosia found Kenzie Durnford with 1:39 to go to get the Owls back on track and then was fouled while making a layup a little over a minute later as Keene State restored a 50-33 lead after three.

The Owls kept their foot on the pedal in the fourth, as after New England College opened with back-to-back baskets to remain within shouting distance (50-37), KSC dropped a 10-0 run on them behind Derosia, who fed Rylee Burgess for a layup before scoring in the paint and from three-point land on the next two possessions.  Jenny Freedman's layup and free throw with 5:26 to go pushed the Owl lead to 23 (60-37), and they eventually led by as many as 27 in the closing minutes.

Samantha Lee filled the stat sheet in her first ever game with KSC, scoring eight points (3-5 FG) to go along with four rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and a steal.

Kayla Goldring paced New England College with 17 points, making 5-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-6 from deep, but the Pilgrims lost four the fourth time in five games against KSC and in only their second ever appearance at Spaulding Gymnasium.  They were outscored by 13 off turnovers, 10 in the paint, 10 in second chances, and 20 off the bench.

Inside the Paint

• Keene State opened the season with a balanced attack, shooting 49 percent overall from the field while seeing 11 different players score out of the 14 total that saw time.  Their percentage from the floor was the highest since a 71-46 win over Fitchburg State University on November 30, 2019.
• Five Owls made their collegiate debuts tonight, including Lee, Durnford, Aryanna Murray, Maya Rioux, and Alexa Hurley.
• Derosia picked up right where she left off in the abbreviated 2021 campaign that saw her shoot 44 percent from the field and 52 percent (14-for-27) from three.  She has scored in double-figures in eight of the last 11 games and has 20 such games in her career (36 games).

Up Next

• Keene State will remain home to take on Westfield State University (season opener) on Tuesday, November 9 at 5:00 p.m.
• New England College ventures up to Bangor, Maine and Husson University (season opener) for a Monday night (November 8) game that tips off at 5:30 p.m.