Women’s basketball suffered a loss at the hands of Rhode Island College (RIC) on Saturday afternoon, 56-42.
The Owls continued Little East Conference (LEC) play on Saturday, to earn a win over a tough opponent in RIC, but their hopes would not come to fruition. The game featured the return of Keene State’s Jackie Alibrandi, a junior guard who played her first game since Dec. 8, 2021 after an injury sidelined her for most of last season and the beginning of this season.
Despite a lackluster shooting performance on the day, the Owls started off well, especially on defense. Keene State went ahead 5-0 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Elizabeth Gonyea with 7:02 to play in the first quarter. However, the Owls went cold for the remainder of the quarter and were unable to hold off the RIC offense . After ten unanswered points from the Anchorwomen, RIC had a 10-5 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter was by far the best of the game from Keene State’s perspective. The Owls matched the Anchorwomen’s intensity in the quarter to keep things close going to halftime. The Owls were led in the quarter by Alibrandi, who played limited time, as well as sophomore Aryanna Murray, who would lead the team with 16 points in the afternoon. The Owls trailed
29-24 at the half.
The third quarter saw RIC pull away a bit with their lead, as a pair of three-pointers to open the new half put the Owls behind by doubledigits for the first time in the game. The Owls would answer with a pair of threes also to cut it to 35-30, but more success from beyond the arc for the Anchorwomen put RIC ahead 44-35 after three.
Keene State would be stymied by the RIC defense in the fourth quarter, scoring just seven points the remainder of the game and coming up short of an upset over a conference rival. Keene State is now 3-6 on the season and also 1-2 in conference play so far.
The Owls will enjoy a lengthy 19-day break before they travel to Florida after Christmas for the Basketball Destinations Classic in Naples, Fla. on Dec. 29 and 30. They will face John Carroll University at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday and Connecticut College at 11:00 a.m. on Friday.
Ryan Goodwin can be contacted at
rgoodwin@kscequinox.com
