KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State women 's basketball team returned home Wednesday night to host Little East Conference opponent UMass-Dartmouth, as the Owls looked to end their three-game losing streak. Brynn Rautiola and Valerie Luizzi combined for 40 points for the Owls, but it would not be enough, as the Corsairs would take down the Owls, 81-55.

Records

• Keene State: 6-9 (2-5 LEC)
• UMass-Dartmouth: 14-2 (7-1 LEC)

Postgame Interview (Coach Boucher)

How It Happened
Rautiola opened the scoring on the day, as she hit both of her free throws at the line in the Owls' first possession, after grabbing the defensive rebound on the other end of the court, giving KSC a 2-0 lead. UMass-Dartmouth answered with a pair of three-pointers on their next possessions, coming from Melanie Demeo and Kaylin Zalewski. With 7:14 left in the first, Rautiola added two more points from a layup, cutting the Corsairs lead to two, only for UMD to score on their next five possessions, to one basket from Luizzi for the Owls over the same span. After a KSC timeout with 4:37 to go and UMD up 16-6, Rautiola scored six points across a pair of possessions, by hitting a three-pointer and then a layup with contact that she converted the free throw attempt on. Both teams continued to trade baskets through the remainder of the first quarter, with Demeo hitting another three for UMD, followed by Luizzi hitting a pair of free throws for KSC. Demeo traded baskets again, hitting a layup, followed by a layup from Samantha Lee for KSC, with less than a minute left in the first. UMD scored a pair of baskets on their last possessions in the quarter, hoping to take a 25-16 lead into the second, but Rautiola let a shot fly from near half court, banking off the backboard and into the net, bringing the Owls to within six to finish off the first 10 minutes of play.
 
Keene State's second quarter would be one to forget, as the Owls tied their second lowest points scored in a quarter in LEC play this season, only scoring six points over the 10 minutes played. The Corsairs opened the quarter on a 10-0 scoring run, from three three-pointers and a free throw, with their defense not allowing a KSC basket until with 3:03 left in the quarter, as Lee threw up a three-pointer with time expiring on the shot clock and hitting nothing but net for her first three-pointer made on the season. UMD answered right with a layup from Carly Whiteside shortly after. Both teams traded baskets as time dwindled down in the half, with Jackie Alibrandi hitting a three-pointer for KSC, followed by a three from Teja Andrews for UMD. The Corsairs ended the half with a pair of layups, bringing their lead to 44-25 heading into halftime.
 
After the Corsairs opened the scoring in the third with a layup from Andrews, every time that UMD scored in the quarter, KSC answered with points of their own. On the following possession for KSC, Luizzi opened the scoring for the Owls in the second half with a jump shot, for her sixth points in the game. Rautiola scored her first points of the quarter, shortly after, following a basket from Zalewski. Zalewski answered Rautiola's basket with another basket of her own, this time from behind the arc, bringing the Corsair's lead to 22. With 6:16 left in the quarter, Luizzi went 2-2 from the free throw line, but Whiteside answered right back with a basket for UMD again. Both teams continued to trade baskets, with Alibrandi making a layup, followed by Zalewski hitting a layup, drawing the contact, and completing the three-point play with the free throw. Angel Pillsbury netted a layup for KSC on the following Owl possession, but Zalewski continued her offensive tear with another three-pointer soon after. The only time in the quarter where a team scored in succession, before the opposing team answered back was done by the Owls with Lily Krysinski hitting a free throw, followed by a layup from Rautiola on the ensuing KSC possession, with 1:34 left in the quarter. Shelby Companion netted the final basket of the quarter, as she increased the Corsairs' lead to 23 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
UMass-Dartmouth continued their scoring right off the bat in the fourth, as Tyah Pettaway drained a three-pointer just 23 seconds into the quarter, but Rautiola answered with a layup for KSC soon after. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes, until Jemima Joseph scored for UMD, followed by another Rautiola jump shot. Amaris Mills responded to Rautiola by hitting a three-pointer for UMD on their next possession, just 11 seconds later. With 5:32 left to play, Luizzi was able to make a tough layup and convert the three-point play by nailing the and-one free throw attempt. On the Owls' next possession, Rautiola grabbed the offensive board and put it right back up and in, scoring the twenty-third point of the game. Following a timeout by the Corsairs, Pettaway drained a three-pointer, bringing UMD's lead back to 25. Luizzi continued to give it her all, as she drove to the basket, making the layup, through the contact and then made the ensuing free throw for another three-point play not even two minutes after her last one. Joseph came right back the other way for UMD, making a layup. Rautiola scored her final three points of the contest on the next KSC possession after getting fouled on a shot from beyond the arc, she hit all three free throw attempts with 3:20 left. Through the final minutes of the game, Pettaway hit two more field goals, bringing her total to 10 points on the day, followed by a three-pointer for Brooke Orton, giving the Corsairs their biggest lead on the day with a minute left. On the Owls' final possession, Kaitlyn Stowell found Krysinski cutting towards the basket, for the final points of the game, as the Corsairs handed KSC their fourth consecutive loss.
 
Inside the Paint

• Keene State still leads the all-time series against the Corsairs after the loss, 36-21, and have lost the previous four meetings, including losing 12 of the past 15 meetings.
• The Corsairs shot 13-28 (.464) from beyond the arc, the highest average to an LEC opponent for the Owls on the season, compared to KSC's 4-22 (.182), their second lowest mark in an LEC game from beyond the arc this year.
• Rautiola led the Owls on offense again, this time scoring 26 points, while Luizzi logged 14 for the Owls, as well.
• Rautiola is now in third place in the LEC in points (279) and points per game (18.6).
• KSC's second half woes continue, as they went 0-10 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes of play.

Up Next

Keene State will travel to Southern Maine on Saturday, January 20, at 1:00 PM for their next game.
UMass-Dartmouth's next game is their final non-conference game of the season, as they will travel to take on Connecticut College on Saturday, January 20, at 12:00 PM.