Keene State Shoots 49 Percent While Building Commanding Halftime Lead in 76-42 Victory

KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore guard Aryanna Murray scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall from the floor and two first years also tossed in double-figures as the Keene State College women's basketball team downed Bryant & Stratton College (Albany) 76-42 in the 2022-2023 home opener Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  1-2
• Bryant & Stratton (Albany):  1-3

Postgame Interview (Coach Boucher)
Postgame Interview (Aryanna Murray)

How It Happened
The Owls outscored the United States Collegiate Athletic Association's (USCAA) Bobcats 12-2 over the final 4:15 of the first quarter to break a 12-12 tie, and it was smooth sailing from there as KSC picked up their first victory of the 2022-2023 season.  The lead jumped to as high as 28 in the second quarter before settling on 45-19 at halftime, and then was as many as 42 early in the fourth, with Keene State holding Bryant & Stratton to 23 percent shooting from the field and 3-of-17 from three-point land (18 percent).  Murray scored 12 of her points in the opening half, making 4-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep.  The Owls had a balanced attack overall, particularly in the first 20 minutes, with Valerie Luizzi (3-6 FG, 2-5 3-PT) and Kenzie Durnford (4-8 FG) each adding eight.  Elizabeth Gonyea had seven points and six rebounds at halftime and ultimately grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds (five offensive) as KSC won the rebounding battle 51-34, including 20-14 on the offensive end.  Lilly Krysinski finished with 12 points, all coming in the second half, and six rebounds.  Six Owls finished with multiple assists, and they finished with their lowest turnover number of the season including just seven over the game's initial 20 minutes.

Saige Roberts was the lone Bobcat in double-figures, scoring 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting.  She grabbed eight boards.  Fatima Bakayoko (3-7 FG) scored seven.  Bryant & Stratton is an USCAA Division II school and has a campus in Albany to go along with Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse in New York.  The Bobcats also have locations in Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, all of which have a different array of athletic teams.

KSC scored the game's first five points, including the first triple for Murray, in the opening minute and a half, but the Bobcats battled back with a 12-7 run that tied the game with 4:28 to go in the first quarter thanks to seven points from Roberts.  The Owls made 5-of-10 shots from the floor over the first six minutes, but after missing their first two, Bryant & Stratton made four of their next seven to force what ended up being the game's only tie at 12, which lasted 13 seconds.  Murray canned a jumper on the next trip, and Gonyea rebounded a miss and then connected on a triple on the possession after that to put Keene State right back up five again, and they were well on their way from there, taking a 24-14 edge through one as Murray made another triple, Durnford a layup, and Gonyea two free throws.

Samantha Lee and Gonyea each scored in the paint within the first minute of the second, and the Bobcats had only one point in the quarter until there were 45 seconds remaining.  KSC had expanded their lead to 43-15 at that point by scoring 15 consecutive points over a 6:40 span, ultimately following up a 9-for-18 (4-11 3-PT) shooting performance in the opening quarter by shooting 8-for-17 (47 percent) in the second.  Burgess had six and Luizzi five in that stretch.  Bryant & Stratton was limited to just two field goals in the second quarter.

Already nursing a commanding halftime lead, Keene State used an 18-2 burst that covered most of the third quarter to balloon their lead to 64-24, with Murray connecting on an early jumper that made it 48-22 and then draining triples on consecutive possessions that made it 60-24 with 3:51 to go.  Krysinski added a basket and two free throws after for four more points before Bryant & Stratton ended their drought of over five minutes.  KSC carried a 66-26 edge to the fourth quarter, shooting 8-for-18 in the third.

Krysinski finished with 12 points and five rebounds in the second half.  Murray made three of her four shots overall and two of three from three, with the two combining for 20 of KSC's 31 second half points.

Inside the Paint

• Murray has made 38 percent of her three-point attempts (6-16) over the season's first three games and has 11 assists (3.7 per game).
• Krysinski has scored 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting over the last two games.
• Gonyea's 11 rebounds are a high watermark in her young KSC career.  She has 19 boards over the season's first three games.
• It was the first meeting between the schools.

Up Next

• Keene State is off until next Tuesday (November 22) when they travel to Worcester State University (1-1) for a 5:00 p.m. pre-Thanksgiving tip-off.
• Bryant & Stratton comes back to New Hampshire on Saturday, November 19 for a 1:00 p.m. start at the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord.  It will be the first game of the season for NHTI.