GORHAM, Maine – First year guard Brynn Rautiola and sophomore guard Valerie Luizzi combined for 41 points on 13-for-26 shooting (50 percent) from the floor as the hot-shooting Keene State College women's basketball team used a big second half to knock off the University of Southern Maine 69-64 in Little East Conference action Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  7-9, 3-5 LEC
• Southern Maine:  8-10, 6-3 LEC

How It Happened
The Owls wiped away the Huskies' five-point halftime edge by outscoring the home team 24-12 in the third and 44-34 in the final 20 minutes overall, engineering their second-highest field goal percentage of the season at an important time to snap a four-game skid.  It was also their second-most efficient three-point shooting effort of the season, and the most threes and third highest percentage from long-range USM had allowed.  KSC shot 13-for-24 (54 percent) in the second half, including a sizzling 8-of-12 and 5-of-7 from distance in the third to change the complexion of the game.  Trailing 35-32 with 5:48 to go in the period, a three-point play by Rautiola wound up being a spark, and the Owls entered the fourth on a 17-7 surge to lead by seven after they had previously trailed by nine in the second quarter.  That span included KSC draining three treys in the final 1:39 – one from Luizzi, one from Rautiola, and one from Avery Stewart – to turn what had been a one-point lead (40-39) into a 49-42 edge.

Lilly Krysinski continued the Owls' uprising to kick off the fourth by scoring inside just 25 seconds in for a game-high 51-42 edge, but USM hung around, as they made 9-of-23 from deep (39 percent) in the second half themselves in what turned out to be a different style of game than the first time the two teams met in Keene, a 54-47 Huskies win (KSC outscored them 19-6 in the fourth).  This time, the Owls had surpassed that point total before the final quarter started and made baskets at key times to prevent Southern Maine from any extended runs.  Luizzi scored inside with 8:09 left to make it 53-45, and after Jade Smedberg made a three on USM's possession, Luizzi found Jackie Alibrandi who drained one of her own for an important response.  The Owls then held the Huskies scoreless for nearly three minutes and went up 58-51 at the 2:51 mark on a bucket inside from Samantha Lee, but the home team scored six points on a pair of threes in 20 seconds by Amy Fleming and Smedberg to suddenly make it 58-57 with 1:57 left.  The Owls had the answers from there – a sign of growth for a younger team in league road game.  A Lee offensive board and two free throws on KSC's next possession made it a three-point lead, and after a USM miss and Owl timeout, Rautiola drained a dagger three with 1:17 to go to make it 63-57.  The Huskies missed again on their next trip as the clock ticked under a minute, but KSC turned the ball over – perhaps their only offensive issue on this day (19 miscues in total) – to give USM the ball back still down by six.  Tamrah Gould was fouled by Lee but made just one at the foul line, and the Huskies had no success playing the foul game, as KSC was 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in the final 33 seconds to help ice the game and missed just one free throw on 15 attempts all day.  The makes were important, as Southern Maine did can two threes in the final 25 seconds including one from Liz Cote, who otherwise was limited to a forgettable performance (3-15 FG, 2-13 3-PT), that made it a one possession game at 67-64 with 12 seconds on the clock.  But Rautiola made her two free throws and then forced a turnover from Fleming – notching her fifth steal – to lock up the Owls' win.

It did not seem to be trending in that direction as the first half wore on, as after leading 7-2 very early and 14-12 after one, KSC surrendered 14 consecutive points to go from leading 19-14 with 8:03 left in the second to trailing 28-19 four minutes later.  However, Rautiola and Lee helped the Owls score six of the final eight points over the last 3:48 before the break to make it a 30-25 game.  KSC then retook the lead less than four minutes into the third on a triple from Luizzi, and USM never had any answers to slow down the Owls' shooting performance.  Luizzi finished with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting to set a new career-best mark in an impressive performance, including 3-of-5 from distance and 5-of-6 at the foul line.  Rautiola was 7-for-15 from the floor, 2-of-6 from three, and 5-of-5 at the foul line en route to her team-high 21 points.  She also had five steals, four rebounds, and two steals.  Lee had 12 points while not missing a shot (4-4 FG, 4-4 FT) and seven rebounds, while Stewart added eight and Alibrandi six.

Fleming (8-14 FG, 4-8 3-PT, 3-3 FT) paced the Huskies with 23 points and six rebounds.  Gould (seven assists) and Smedberg each added nine, but USM was held to 36 percent shooting overall and 14-of-44 from three-point range (32 percent).

Inside the Paint

• Luizzi has scored in double-figures in six of the last eight games, including 47 points over the last three games on 16-for-38 shooting (42 percent) overall and 11-for-12 at the foul line.  She also has 10 rebounds, six assists, and six steals in that span.
• KSC outrebounded USM 33-29.
• Rautiola is currently tied for second in the LEC in scoring (and the highest-scoring rookie) and is sixth in free throw percentage (83 percent).  Luizzi is fifth in steals and Lee fifth in rebounds.  The Owls' team plus-3.69 turnover margin is second-best in the league, behind No. 3 Rhode Island College's plus-7.17.
• Keene State's win snapped a six-game losing streak in the series in which they had scored more than 47 points in a game just once.  USM had won 11 of the last 13 entering the day after previously losing four straight and six of seven from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017.

Up Next

• KSC returns home to host Plymouth State University (8-8, 4-4 LEC) on Wednesday night (January 24) at 5:30 p.m.
• Southern Maine visits third-ranked RIC on the same night (5:30 p.m.).  RIC won the first meeting between the two teams 68-27.