Equinox Staff
The Keene State College Women’s basketball team opened up the 2012 season with an undisputed victory over the York College Cardinals at the Spaulding Gymnasium on Nov. 17th, 2012.
In a game that the Owl’s evidently came into well prepared for and ready, the KSC women put an offensive and defensive clinic on the Cardinals, beating the visiting team with a final score of 96-36.
The first half got underway with the Owl’s jumping out quickly to a commanding 7-0 lead that only continued to grow. Scoring their first basket with 12:34 to go in the first half making the score 27-2. Soon, it was a 7-0 lead that had grown all the way to a 31-2 lead with still over 11 minutes to go in the first half.
By the end of the first half, the game was already over before the final whistle blew with the Owl’s holding a 54-10 lead going into the locker room pep talks.
Out of the 41 turnovers the Cardinals had in the game, 26 were committed in the first half. This was largely due to the Owl’s iron curtain defense that created 28 steals throughout the game, with 17 in the first half.
Freshman point guard Laurie Allen kept the pressure up for the Owl’s and took the opportunities she had with 9 steals in the game. Also scoring 13 points with 8 assists, Allen was the standout player in the game.
Carly Kiernan led the Owl’s attack, shooting 7 of 11 from the field with a total of 16 points. In a game where every player of the Owl’s scored a point to the Owl’s final score, twelve players attributed to the Keene State win.
Shadaeya Greene led the way for the visiting Cardinals team with a total of 10 points and 4 assists.
With a short bench of only four players, York College had a significant fewer amount of subsitutes than Keene State who had seven in a game where York could have used the extra help.
Allen was one of those substitutes that made the difference for the Owl’s off the bench with energy and aggression.
The Owl’s shot a 53.2% from the field going 25 and 44, almost double the efficiency of the Cardinals who shot a 26.4% in opposition going 5 for 23.
By halftime, the York College women finished the half demoralized and without much effort only retained 10 points in the first half total.
The second half of the contest was much more competitive but the Owl’s kept up the pressure to assure a Keene State win.
The Owls won the second half only 42 to 26, as compared to the 54 to 10 hammering in the first half. A much more aggressive and consistent York College team came out of the locker room with all intentions of giving the Owl’s game despite the 44 point deficit they faced getting back onto the court.
Head Coach Keith Bouchard’s Owls stayed in form and kept the game plan to the grindstone not letting up on what the team’s goal was.
In the first game of the 2012-2013 Season for the KSC Women’s Basketball team, it was certainly a good start and what they were hoping for but like all first games of the seasons show to concerned coaches, there’s always room for improvements.
Those improvements are what both teams will continue to work on through a surely competitive and strenuous season that lies ahead.
Dalton Charest can be contacted
at dcharest@keene-equinox.com