CASTLETON, Vt. – After trailing for most of the game, the Keene State College women's basketball team came alive in the fourth quarter, outscoring the University of Vermont State Castleton, 15-9, giving KSC the 54-49 win over the Spartans.

Records

• Keene State: 9-11 (5-6 LEC)
• Castleton: 7-13 (3-8 LEC)

How It Happened
Both teams scored on their first possessions of the game, with Schuylar Nolan scoring a layup for Castleton and then Brynn Rautiola hitting a three for the Owls to take a 3-2 lead, 31 seconds into the game. Both teams were unable to score a basket over the next five minutes, until Emily Adams gave Castleton the lead again with a layup with 4:17 left in the first. KSC continued to not be able to shoot the rest of the quarter, with Castleton scoring seven more points, to make it nine straight over the next three and a half minutes. The Owls finally tacked on two more points, from Samantha Lee going 2-for-2 at the line with 39 seconds remaining. Castleton added another layup to take a 13-5 lead heading into the second quarter. After Rautiola made the opening shot of the game for KSC, the Owls went 0-for-16 from the field the rest of the quarter, compared to the Spartans going 6-for-15 (40%).
 
KSC opened the second with four points in the opening two minutes, compared to just one from Castleton, with Rautiola and Ruby Dasaro each logging two points apiece to cut the lead to five. Both teams traded baskets back-and-forth through the halfway point in the quarter, with the Spartans outscoring the Owls, 7-5. Castleton added another basket to increase their lead to nine, but the Owls answered right back with seven points in a row with two from each Rautiola and Angel Pillsbury, and a three from Aryanna Murray with 3:09 remaining in the half to cut the lead to two. The Spartans scored one more basket on the ensuing possession as the two teams went scoreless in the final 2:49 in the half, and Castleton took a 25-21 lead heading into halftime.
 
The Owls opened the scoring with a basket from Lee and Avery Stewart to tie the game up at 25 apiece, 47 seconds into the second half. Castleton responded right back with eight consecutive points over the next two and a half minutes. KSC scored on three of their next four possessions as Dasaro logged five straight points over the next 1:33 to cut the lead to three, but Castleton scored on their next two possessions to extend the lead back to seven with 4:38 left in the third. Just as they did at the beginning of the quarter, KSC tied the game up with 1:19 remaining, with Murray and Rautiola scoring two and Pillsbury hitting a three to tie the game at 37. Just 13 seconds later, Stasia Epler hit a three to put Castleton back up, but Pillsbury made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the third to cut the lead to one for the Spartans heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
KSC opened the fourth without scoring on their opening two possessions, but they did score on the next three possessions with a three from Pillsbury, and two layups from Rautiola, to take the lead and to go up by six with seven minutes remaining. Over the next three minutes, both teams traded two points with Luna Perry-St.Peter scoring free throws for Castleton and Kiley Bundy scored a layup for the Owls, along with Valerie Luizzi getting on the board for KSC with a three to give the Owls their largest lead of the day, up 51-42. Over the next 3:54 of the game, Castleton was able to get within four points, with five free throws made, but Rautiola closed the game out in the final 27 seconds, making three of four at the line, giving KSC the 54-49 win on the day.
 
Inside the Paint

• With the win, KSC now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 9-7, having won the five most recent games.
• Rautiola recorded a game-high 19 points, while Pillsbury recorded a career-high 12 points.
• Lee led both teams on the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds, with three being offensive boards.
• 19 of KSC's points came from their bench, while three came from the bench for Castleton.
• The Owls capitalized on fast breaks, scoring seven points to just two by the Spartans.

 
Up Next
Keene State returns home for senior day for their next game as they host the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Saturday, February 8, at 1:00 PM.
Castleton travels to take on the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Saturday, February 8, at 12:00 PM.