The Keene State College women’s basketball team was able to overcome sloppy second-half play on Saturday, Feb. 6, to defeat the University of Southern Maine 60-53 on Senior Day.
The Owls raced out to a fast start, opening up the contest with an 11-2 lead in over four minutes. Junior Stephanie D’Annolfo got the Owls going, scoring seven of her team-high 14 points in that stretch. D’Annolfo finished with ten rebounds and three assists.
Keene State was in control of the Huskies 37-22 at halftime. However, the third quarter was a different story. KSC scored just three points in the entire quarter, being outscored 12-3. Southern Maine made some noise in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 48-43 with just over two minutes left in the game.
Owls Head Coach Keith Boucher said a lot of things did not go well for his team in the second half. He said, “We didn’t play with poise. We didn’t shoot the ball well in the second half.” Keene State shot 24 percent in the final two quarters. After committing just three turnovers in the first half, Boucher said the Owls turned the ball over 15 times in the second half.
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Even though things got tough, Boucher said he was pleased with the way the team battled adversity. “The kids kept battling. You’ve got to do that and I was proud of them for that,” Boucher said.
Senior forward Ryanne Williams made her second start of the season and put up solid numbers. Williams scored 12 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Williams said the Owls wanted this win badly after falling earlier on the season to Southern Maine on the road. “We’ve worked really hard as a team to come and get revenge on this game. I just think I came out wanting to win and we came out as a team,” Williams said.
The other senior on the roster, guard Kelsey Cognetta, finished with seven points and three steals. Cognetta and Williams were honored before the game for their contributions to the program.
With the victory, the Owls improved to a perfect 12-0 at home on the season. The Owls return home one last time on Wednesday February 17, against Eastern Connecticut State University at 5:30 p.m.
Brian can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com
