Owls Never Trail, Win 81-67 To Improve to 2-0

KEENE, N.H. – Hailey Derosia put up one of the most impressive stat lines of her career thus far, piling up 17 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists (against just three turnovers), and four steals as the Keene State College women's basketball team pulled away from Westfield State University 81-67 in non-conference action Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  2-0
• Westfield State:  0-1

How It Happened
KSC scored the game's first seven points and led throughout the night, quickly turning away Westfield once they drew within three in the opening moments of the third quarter by outscoring them 26-13 over the remainder of the period to build a 63-47 lead that eventually grew as high as 23 points (70-47) less than two minutes into the fourth.  The Owls have shot 48 percent over their opening two contests, trailing for just 30 seconds combined, and have gotten a thoroughly impressive showing from Derosia, who has made 14-of-24 shots, totaling 32 points to go along with 17 rebounds, 17 assists, and six steals.  Riley Burgess made 7-of-10 from the floor to score 16, while Jackie Alibrandi added 11 points (3-7 3-PT) and four assists.  Jenny Freedman and Samantha Lee each put in 13 for Keene State, who gave Westfield a taste of their own style by racking up 11 steals and forcing 21 turnovers.  WSU led the country in steals in the 2019-2020 season with 19.3 per game while playing a constant full court pressing style with frequent wave substitutions.   Franklin Pierce University transfer Paris Wilkey led Westfield with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting (2-4 3-PT) while Alison Mendel added 11, but Westfield's Owls were outrebounded 58-25.

After turning the ball over 17 times in the opening half, Keene State committed only nine over the final 20 minutes and shot 50 percent from the floor, enabling them to quickly pull away again after Westfield made it 37-34 on Wilkey's jumper to open the second half.  Burgess' putback on the ensuing possession began a stretch of eight consecutive KSC points that pushed the lead to 11 again, culminating with Freedman's fastbreak layup off a feed by Derosia, and her old-fashioned three-point play with 5:07 left in the period made it 49-36.  Derosia scored on consecutive possessions late in the third to make it a 17-point game (60-43), and KSC was well on their way, starting the fourth on a 7-0 burst to make it 70-47.  Westfield never got closer than 13 after that.

Fourteen of WSU's 20 field goals were three-pointers, and those temporarily helped them back into the game in the second quarter as they ran off 11 points in a row mostly thanks to three treys from three different people to turn a 25-12 deficit into a 25-23 game, but outside of that were 11-of-42 from long range.

Inside the Paint

• Keene State ended a three-game losing streak in the series, but has now won five of six all-time meetings over Westfield in Keene, three by double-figures.
• The Owls have 39 team assists on 57 made field goals in their two games this season.  The 24 tonight is their highest single-game total since recording 27 in a 95-79 win over Western Connecticut State University on February 20, 2018.
• Derosia is averaging 12.3 points per game on 47 percent shooting and has added 89 rebounds, 42 assists, 16 steals, and 11 blocks over her last 12 games dating back to the start of last season's abbreviated schedule.

Up Next

• KSC hits the road for the first time to head to the Middlebury College Tip-Off Classic this weekend.  The Owls first take on Babson College (1-0) on Saturday (November 13) at 1:00 p.m.  It will be the second of three LEC opponents for the Beavers in their first four games.  They beat Eastern Connecticut State University 67-60 at home this evening.  Middlebury and Clarkson University are the other two teams at the tournament.
• Westfield State goes to Plymouth State University (0-0) on the same day for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.