Owls Put Three in Double-Figures, Win With Ease at Plymouth State

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – First year guard Valerie Luizzi and junior guard Jackie Alibrandi combined to make six threes and score 27 points while Kenzie Durnford added double-digit points and Rylee Burgess double-digit rebounds as the Keene State College women's basketball team never trailed while breaking a seven-game losing streak in a 76-36 shellacking of Plymouth State University in Little East Conference action at Foley Gymnasium Wednesday night.

Records

• Keene State:  4-12, 2-8 LEC
• Plymouth State:  5-12, 0-10 LEC

How It Happened
It was a feel good night for the Owls, who saw 11 players record a steal, 10 different players score, and as a team shoot their highest percentage since the season-opener on November 8 while posting their first win since December 7 when they downed PSU by 29 points in Keene.  The 20 swipes were the most of the season for Keene State and the highest total in 10 years, and helped totally fluster an overwhelmed Plymouth team that trailed by seven after one, 20 at halftime, and 30 after three before eventually suffering what was tied for the second most lopsided defeat of the season.  The 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting (3-6 3-PT, 1-1 FT) represented a new best for Luizzi in her young career, now just in her first season.  Alibrandi's 11 points (4-10 FG, 3-8 3-PT) were a new season-best as she continues to work back from an injury that caused her to miss a year's worth of action.

KSC was not torching the nets early, but scored the game's first nine points – including seven in a row for Durnford – in the opening 3:35.  Meanwhile, the Panthers made just one of their first 16 tries from the field overall, and that more or less set the tone for the game, as after PSU slowly cobbled together six straight points to get within three (9-6), five points from Luizzi in 14 seconds early in the second quarter had the Owls in front 18-6 at the 8:05 mark.  Another bucket from Luizzi and layup from Burgess a few minutes later still had the margin at 14 before the Panthers did put up six in a row to make it a 22-14 game with 3:48 to go in the half.  However, that was short-lived.  Luizzi hit one of her three triples on KSC's next possession, and that ultimately sparked a 14-2 burst over the final 3:19 that broke the game wide open as the Owls carried a 36-16 advantage to the locker room.  Luizzi also had a conventional three-point play in that span that made it 30-14, and Elizabeth Gonyea a trey on the ensuing trip.  Keene State shot 41 percent from the field and limited the Panthers to just a 5-for-29 showing with 15 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Nothing much changed in the second half, other than perhaps the lead growing even faster, as the Owls shot 7-for-15 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes including 5-for-10 in a fourth quarter where they shot 56 percent overall.  By the end of three, Plymouth had made just six field goals total.  They did make 5-of-12 shots alone in the final 10 minutes, but KSC had ballooned the 20-point gap at halftime to 50-20 entering the fourth, and then behind their own hot-shooting led by as many as 42 from then on.  The Panthers scored just four points in the third quarter while KSC forced 10 miscues and had seven steals.  Alibrandi and Camila Martinez heated up from long-range in the fourth, each connecting for a pair, which included Martinez's first career points.  Avery Stewart added another long-range make as Keene State finished the night on the right foot with a 26-point quarter that, most notably, saw them take care of the ball with no turnovers.  They did have 20 up until that point, but Plymouth turned those into only three points while KSC turned 32 PSU miscues into 29 points.

Durnford finished with 10 points (3-7 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 3-4 FT) and six rebounds to round out the Owls' three double-digit scorers.

Raven Premont scored half of Plymouth State's points, finishing with 18 points (4-9 FG, 3-6 3-PT, 7-9 FT) and seven rebounds.  Sophie George, their leading scorer entering the night, was held to six and 1-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Inside the Paint

• Luizzi has nine multi-three games this season including four with three or more.  She has scored in double-figures nine times.
• Durnford is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three-point range on the season and has three double-figure scoring outputs in her last four games.
• The Owls have dominated the all-time series, winning six straight and 44 of 57 meetings.

Up Next

• Keene State travels to face league-leading Rhode Island College (17-2, 10-0 LEC) on Saturday (January 28) at 1:00 p.m.  The Owls fell to the Anchormen 56-42 in the season's first meeting.  RIC eviscerated the University of Southern Maine 75-35 tonight on the road for their 16th straight victory after losing two lopsided contests to nationally-ranked Smith College and Babson College very early in the season.  KSC has not beaten the Anchorwomen since 2018, and has scored more than 50 points against them in just two games since then.
• Plymouth State hosts second-place Eastern Connecticut State University (15-4, 9-1 LEC) on the same day and time.  ECSU has won six straight, including a 74-66 final over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth tonight.