Owls Limit Panthers to 14 Points in First Half, Roll to 81-43 Victory

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Hailey Derosia scored 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting while adding eight rebounds and four assists as the Keene State College women's basketball team ended a frustrating losing streak with an emphatic 81-43 win over Plymouth State University in Little East Conference action Wednesday night at Foley Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  4-5, 1-1 LEC
• Plymouth State:  1-6, 0-2 LEC

How It Happened
One game after shooting a season-low 32 percent in a 16-point home loss, the Owls rebounded to connect on 47 percent from the field including 52 percent after halftime to level their conference record by winning a game that was never in much doubt.  KSC scored the opening five points, led 11-5 after one despite just 5-for-16 shooting, 33-14 at halftime, and then by as many as 40 in the second half while giving the Panthers a fifth consecutive loss, this their most lopsided of the season.  Rylee Burgess made her presence known in the first half, tallying eight points (4-6 FG) and five rebounds, four on the offensive end, and helped the Owls to a 20-2 paint points advantage that grew to 36-10 by the end of the night.  Derosia added eight in the first half and Aryanna Murray seven.  Keene State's defense forced 26 turnovers on the evening while holding the Panthers to a season-low 14 field goals and 22 percent shooting, including three quarters at 21 percent or less.

The Owls wasted no time jumping in front while using their size advantage, as Burgess converted a third-chance opportunity on KSC's opening possession before scoring again following Derosia's block of Sabrina Vlahovic as part of their opening burst that eventually reached 11-2 after Samantha Lee's offensive board and putback at the 2:16 mark of the opening quarter.  Plymouth's Jalen Cook got her team on the board nearly three minutes in with a jumper that made it 5-2, but they did not score again until 14 seconds remained in the first, and followed that by not making their next field goal until halfway through the second quarter, a period the Owls dominated 22-9.  Burgess again scored inside off feeds from Maya Rioux and Derosia in quick succession as KSC went in front by double-digits (15-5) for the first time with 9:05 left in the half.  Murray came alive a short time later, scoring seven points including two triples in less than three minutes as the Owls made it 25-9 at the 4:23 mark.  Leading 27-14, the Owls scored the final six points to take a 19-point lead into the break.  Keene State connected on 53 percent from the floor in the second 10 minutes and made half of their four three-pointers.  Plymouth was limited to five field goals in the half.

Derosia and Jenny Freedman opened the third quarter with a pair of layups in the first 42 seconds as KSC made it 37-14, and their lead was never lower than 20 again.  A triple by Derosia at the 4:27 mark had her team in front 45-22, and the margin remained the same after three at 51-28 following the Owl junior's layup with 20 seconds left in the quarter.  The Owls hung 30 on Plymouth in the fourth, making 7-of-12 shots from the field and 3-of-7 from three, to polish off their most lopsided win since a 91-45 pasting of SUNY-Cobleskill on November 13, 2015.  KSC led by a game-high 78-38 margin in the final minutes after three free throws in a row by Carissa Miller, who scored her first collegiate point in the game and finished with six.

Freedman made all four of her shots from the floor to score 11 points while adding seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.  Murray finished with 10 points (3-8 3-PT) and Burgess eight.  KSC had 14 assists, with Derosia, Freedman, and Rioux combining for 11.

Lauren Keller led Plymouth with 14 points, making 4-of-9 from distance.  Cook added 13, but on 12 shots, and was forced into seven turnovers as the Panthers lost their first home game since November 20.

Inside the Paint

• Derosia is 10-for-21 and 7-for-9 at the foul line with 10 rebounds, six assists, and 28 points in the last two games.  She is shooting 46 percent while averaging 11.9 points per game this season.  Murray has connected on 36 percent (12-33) from three nine games into her career.
• The Owls have scored 59 or more points in all four of their victories this season.  They shot at least 40 percent in each of their first five games, but had connected on only 35 percent while setting season lows each time out in their three-game slide that ended tonight.
• Keene State has won three in a row in a series they have dominated 41-13, though tonight's 38-point win was the largest in series history since the Owls joined the Little East.

Up Next

• Keene State travels to Rhode Island College for a rematch of last season's LEC championship game on Saturday, December 11.  Tip-off is at 1:00 p.m.  It is KSC's last contest until December 30, and they will look to end a string of seven consecutive losses against the Anchorwomen after going 8-1 in the previous nine.
• Plymouth State stays home to host Eastern Connecticut State University (5-4, 2-0 LEC) on the same day, also at 1:00 p.m.  The Panthers have not beaten the Warriors in 10 years, and not since December of 2000 at home (96-85).