KEENE, N.H. – Valerie Luizzi and Brynn Rautiola continued to do what they have done throughout the season for the Owls, as they combined for 48 points and almost outscored Plymouth State themselves, in Keene State's 61-51 win over in-state rival Plymouth State on Wednesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State: 8-9 (4-5 LEC)
• Plymouth State: 8-9 (4-5 LEC)

Postgame Interview (Coach Boucher)
Postgame Interview (Valerie Luizzi)

How it Happened

KSC opened the scoring soon after winning the tipoff, as Luizzi drained her first three-pointer of the contest. A minute later, PSU answered back with a three-pointer from Lea Crompton and a jumper from Sabrina Vlahovic on the ensuing possession, giving the Panthers a 5-3 lead. Samantha Lee single-handedly retook the lead for KSC by making back-to-back layups, with the second one coming after grabbing the offensive rebound and putting it back up and in for the lead. Crompton retook the lead for PSU on their next possession, followed by a layup by her teammate, Brianna Wilcox after stealing the ball from the Owls, making the score 10-7 for the Panthers. It didn't take long for KSC to answer back once again, with Lily Krysinski grabbing an offensive rebound and making a free throw after being fouled, followed by Rautiola forcing a steal from PSU and taking the ball down the court and laying it in to even the score at 10 apiece with 4:20 left in the opening quarter. Both teams traded baskets through the rest of the quarter, with a three-pointer coming from Hailey Malozzi for PSU to regain the lead, followed by a layup from Rautiola with 1:26 left. Vlahovic scored the final point of the quarter, as she a free throw to make the score 14-12 for PSU heading into the second.
 
Luizzi tied the game up at 15 on KSC's opening possession of the second quarter following a made free throw from Wilcox for PSU. Ashley Stephens responded to Luizzi's three with a layup and Wilcox hit a three-pointer soon after to give Plymouth State what would be their largest lead of the game and their final points of the quarter, with a 20-15 lead over KSC with 7:46 left to play in the second. The next six points of the contest came from free throws for KSC, with Luizzi going 2-4 from the line over the span and Rautiola going 4-4 from the line. With 2:49 left in the quarter, Luizzi hit her second three-pointer of the quarter, putting KSC up 24-20. Rautiola added two more points with under a minute left in the first half, following a steal by Avery Stewart for KSC, who dished the pass to Rautiola for the basket, increasing the Owls run to 11-0 and making the score 26-20 for KSC heading into the half. Of the Owls' 14 points in the second, Luizzi scored eight, while Rautiola scored the other six for KSC.
 
Plymouth State opened the second half on a 9-3 run, with Rautiola netting the only basket for KSC over the span, a three pointer, while Stephens scored six of the Panthers' nine points and tied the game up at 29 apiece with 5:22 left to play in the third. Luizzi gave the Owls the lead back on the ensuing possession with a layup, but Wilcox cut KSC's lead to one on PSU's next possession by hitting a free throw. With 4:06 left to play, Rautiola added another two points for the Owls, but Crompton answered right back by making a layup just nine seconds later. The rest of the quarter, KSC went on to outscore PSU 8-2, with Rautiola hitting a pair of free throws soon after another Stewart steal, followed by Stewart scoring her first basket of the day, a three-pointer from Luizzi. With under 30 seconds left in the quarter, Stewart returned the favor, assisting Luizzi for a three-pointer, giving KSC a 41-34 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Wilcox tried to mount a comeback for PSU as she cut the lead to five after scoring the first possession for the Panthers in the fourth. Neither team scored for the next two minutes until Luizzi stole the ball from the Panthers and hit a three-pointer on the next possession for the Owls. Although Stephens and Crompton both made baskets on the Panthers' next two possessions, cutting the lead to 44-40 for KSC with 5:43 left to play. Luizzi's layup on the Owls' following possession started an 8-0 run for KSC, with Rautiola going 6-6 from the line, and picking up a pair of steals in the scoring run. Wilcox once again tried to mount a comeback for the Panthers, as she scored three points, along with a layup from Crompton, cutting KSC's lead to seven. Luizzi wouldn't allow it to happen, as she grabbed the defensive board on back-to-back possessions, in which she was fouled and made all four of her free throws to increase the Owls' lead again with 2:05 left to play. Wilcox, herself, was fouled on back-to-back possessions for PSU, although unintentionally unlike Luizzis', and she hit all four of her shots at the line. In the meantime, for KSC, Katie Sullivan and Angel Pillsbury each hit a free throw for the Owls, bringing the score to 58-49 with under a minute to play. Crompton and Natalie Harris each hit a free throw in the final minute for PSU, while Stewart added a free throw and Krysinski added a layup, giving the Owls a 61-51 win over the Panthers.
 
Inside the Paint

• With the win, KSC improves to 45-13 all time against the Panthers, having won the past seven meetings.
• Luizzi set a new career-high in the win, tallying 25 points from 7-15 from the field, including 5-9 from three, and 6-8 from the line, to go with her seven rebounds, pair of assists, and one steal.
• Although Rautiola struggled from three (1-9), she went a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line. Her 23 points in the contest improves her season average to 19.2 PPG, which is good for the second-most out of all freshmen in Division III women's basketball. Rautiola finished the game with five assists and five steals, as well.
• As a team, Keene State shot 22-32 from the free throw line, with the large number of attempts coming from the Panthers intentionally fouling throughout the fourth.
• Lee and Stewart led the Owls on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds each, to go with their four points apiece.

Up Next

Keene State's next game won't come for another week, when they will face Vermont State Castleton at home on Wednesday, January 31, at 5:30 PM. The Owls won the previous meeting earlier in the season, 58-46 on the road
Plymouth State's will next play on Saturday, January 27, at 1:00 PM, as they will travel to take on UMass-Dartmouth. PSU lost the previous matchup against UMD, 84-49.