Owls Win Every Quarter, Never Seriously Threatened in Eventful League Win

KEENE, N.H. – Freshman Aryanna Murray and junior Hailey Derosia combined to score 34 points on 13-for-27 shooting, 3-for-5 from behind the arc, as the Keene State College women's basketball team handled Western Connecticut State University with ease, 70-52 in a Little East Conference game Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  6-12, 3-8 LEC
• Western Connecticut:  6-13, 1-9 LEC

How It Happened
The Owls put forth their highest-scoring output since December 8 and recorded 17 steals while weathering a 45-minute second quarter campus-wide power outage and 15 offensive rebounds allowed as they won for the second time in the past four games.  They have a net rating of +8.5 in that span, with their two losses combing by a combined 14 points against the Little East Conference's top two teams.  Today, after a back-and-forth opening seven minutes, KSC got hot from three-point range as Michelle LaBonte, Derosia, and Elizabeth Gonyea each canned treys in the final 3:23 of the first quarter in a 9-2 run that provided the Owls a 16-11 edge after one.  It kept growing from there, as Gonyea drilled another triple 19 seconds into the second before a layup by Murray at the 7:45 mark made it 22-11.  It was still 26-16 a little over three minutes later when WestConn began a small run – one that extended through a 45-minute delay that began with 3:30 left in the half and wound up becoming the defacto halftime – to chip their deficit to four (26-22), but that was as close as they came.  Murray buried a triple with 1:45 to go in the quarter to make it 31-23 before Jenny Freedman canned two free throws in the final seconds to restore the lead to 10 at what would have been halftime, but was instead a two-minute break.

Keene State's lead never fell below double-figures in the final 20 minutes, where they shot 45 percent overall and got nine points apiece on 7-for-11 shooting from Murray and Derosia.  First years Samantha Lee and Kenzie Durnford scored on consecutive possessions early in the third to push the Owl lead to 14 (37-23), and KSC used their defense to maintain that comfortable lead, holding WestConn to just five points over the first eight minutes of the quarter.  The Owls forced 14 turnovers in the second half and 29 in the game, compiling a 32-12 edge in points off miscues.  The visitors briefly drew within 11 on Rosaleen Regan's triple at the 3:21 mark that made it 39-28, but Derosia scored twice in quick succession to push the lead right back to 15.  Nicole Vivian and Ashley Rilley gave Western five points in 30 seconds to make it a 10-point game (45-35) in the final minute of the third, but Keene State tallied four of the next five to lead 49-36 through three.  The Owls kept going after the quarter break, blowing the game wide open with a 13-3 burst early in the fourth to make it a game-high, 21-point (62-41) advantage.  In that stretch, Murray scored five points and KSC made four consecutive shots from the field while going to the free throw line seven times (making four).  WestConn got as close as 12 after Regan's jumper with 3:58 to go, two of her team-high 13 points (4-9 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 3-6 FT) off the bench in 21 minutes, but Murray found Alexa Hurley for a three on the next possession to make it 65-50.  Murray's layup and free throw with 3:07 to go made it 68-52, all but ending whatever faint chance Western Connecticut had remaining.

Derosia finished with 16 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting effort (1-2 3-PT, 3-3 FT) while adding four assists and three steals.  Murray had 18 points, making 7-of-18 shots (2-3 3-PT), and added six rebounds, four steals, and two assists.  Gonyea made two of her three tries from long-range and scored seven for KSC, who made 7-of-14 (50 percent) from three in the game.  The Owls improved to 5-1 when shooting 40 percent or better from the floor this season, with their lone loss an overtime decision at Middlebury College when they scored 74 points.  They are 1-11 when finishing below that mark.

Rilley finished with eight points (3-7 FG, 2-2 FT), 10 rebounds, and four assists for WestConn, who dropped their 11th straight.  Katelyn Fanning had seven points (2-4 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT) and six rebounds.

Inside the Paint

• Keene State has held the opposition to a 34 percent shooting mark – with the highest effort being a 38.6 percent showing – and 51 points per game over the past four contests.
• Derosia has scored 48 points (12 PPG) on 51 percent shooting while adding 11 assists in that span, while Murray has grabbed 25 rebounds.
• WCSU outrebounded the Owls 47-31 after KSC was minus-12 in that category in a narrow loss at Eastern Connecticut State University this past Wednesday.  Today was the Owls' first time winning when being beaten on the glass this season.  They had been 0-10.

Up Next

• The two teams complete a weekend home-and-home set tomorrow in Danbury at 2:00 p.m.  The game is a make-up from January 8.  KSC will be looking to sweep the season series for the first time since the 2016-2017 season, a year in which they won their first LEC tournament title and reached the NCAA tournament along with two other conference teams.  The Owls have won four of six over WestConn at Spaulding Gymnasium.