Owls Win For First Time Since December 8 in Plymouth

KEENE, N.H. – Freshman Aryanna Murray scored 13 points and junior Hailey Derosia added 11 as the Keene State College women's basketball team took a double-digit lead 19 seconds into the second quarter and cruised from there to a 65-35 victory over Plymouth State University in Little East Conference action Wednesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  5-10, 2-6 LEC
• Plymouth State:  1-9, 0-5 LEC

How It Happened
It had been a tough slide for the Owls, who dropped their final game of the fall semester to Rhode Island College (55-45) on December 11, had an unexpected break that lasted over a month, and since returning have had an uneven yet packed schedule which now becomes even more condensed with the home game against RIC being moved up to Friday due to the impending winter weather.  However, on this night KSC had no problems, rolling past the Panthers for the second time this season.  After trailing 4-2, the Owls ran off 16 consecutive points to go in front 18-4 on Elizabeth Gonyea's triple with 8:38 left to go in the second quarter, and the advantage only grew from there.  Plymouth State went nearly 10 minutes without a point.  Still ahead 20-10, the Owls removed any suspense coming later about the outcome by rattling off a 17-0 burst in a 4:07 span late in the second quarter that made it 37-10.  Brianna Metellus had all 10 of her points in the game in that span, including a pair of treys, as KSC made 4-of-6 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three-point range, and 6-of-8 at the foul line.  Plymouth missed their four field goal tries and turned the ball over three times, overall being held to their worst field goal percentage output of the season (21.9 percent).  In two games against the Owls, they shot 30-for-125 (24 percent) from the floor.

Keene State never let the Panthers back into the game, as they extended a 37-15 halftime edge to 59-21 with a dominant third quarter.  The Owls came out of the locker room with a 9-0 burst in less than three minutes as they made their first four shots from four different players including a Kenzie Durnford triple to make it 46-15 at the 7:23 mark.  Derosia and Burgess scored inside about halfway through the period for a wide 50-17 gap, which became even bigger when Murray scored five points including a long buzzer-beating trey in the final 30 seconds to give KSC a game-high 38-point advantage.  The Owls shot 16-for-37 overall and 6-for-13 from deep in the second and third quarters combined when they put 46 points on the board.  Plymouth had just 17 in those two periods and 21 total entering the fourth before setting the final margin by outscoring the Owls reserve unit 14-6 in the fourth.  It was the lone quarter PSU won in the two-game season series, having lost the first seven by 76 points.

Murray shot 6-for-14 from the floor and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals in her team-leading effort.  Derosia was 5-for-10 shooting overall and chipped in three steals, two rebounds, and two assists.  Metellus made 2-of-4 from three and scored in double-figures (10 points) for the third time in five games as KSC won at home for the first time since November 9 against Westfield State University.

Jalen Cook paced Plymouth with 12 points, but needed 21 shots to reach that total.  She added six rebounds, for steals, and two assists.  Sabrina Vlahovic finished with 11 points (5-11 FG) and six boards.  The Panthers were outrebounded 51-34 and committed 27 turnovers in the game.  They have lost 25 of 30 at Spaulding Gymnasium and 42 of 55 against Keene State overall.

Inside the Paint

• Keene State has won four straight in the series, holding PSU to 43 points or less in each game.
• The Owls are holding the opposition to 35.5 percent shooting overall this year and a paltry 25 percent from long range (77-for-303).  The last eight opponents have all shot under 30 percent from behind the arc against KSC.
• Tonight (plus-17) marked the third-biggest rebounding gap of the season for the Owls, who had been beaten on the glass by 46 boards over the past five games including by 25 in the past two.

Up Next

• As mentioned, because of the expected winter storm on Saturday, Keene State will now host first place Rhode Island College (14-4, 9-0 LEC) on Friday, January 28 at 4:00 p.m.  The Anchorwomen won the first meeting 55-45 and have beaten the Owls eight straight times.
• Plymouth State's Saturday game was also moved up a day, when they will visit Eastern Connecticut State University (9-8, 6-2 LEC) at 6:00 p.m.