Plymouth State University
The Keene State women’s basketball team hosted Plymouth State on Feb. 8 in the Spaulding Gymnasium. The Keene State Owls improved their record to 15-7, and 8-3 in the Little East Conference (LEC). The Plymouth State Panthers fell to 5-15 and 2-9 in the LEC.
Emily McPadden led the Owls, finishing off the night with six points, shooting 6-9 from the field. Senior Stephanie D’Annolfo tallied her fifth double-double of the season, adding in 15 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Lydia Vital added 14 points, while also adding three rebounds, two steals and two assists.
On the other side of the court for the Panthers, Kayla Wyland scored 12 points, while DeAsia Lawrence added 11. Annaliese Schmidt put up a double-double scoring 10 points and added 14 rebounds.
Both teams had fought hard in the first quarter, but the Owls led 17-15. Rachel Bonnanzio ended the quarter with a buzzer beater layup to put the Owls on top.
The Panthers took their first lead of the game after a three-pointer from Lawrence in the second quarter. The second quarter was dominated by the Panthers. The Owls fought back and ended the half on a 8-0 run, only down by one point at half. The Panthers led 32-21.
The Owls took the lead, scoring the first five points of the third quarter. A layup late in the quarter by Vital put the Owls on top 47-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
Going into the fourth, the Owls dominated. McPadden had a huge fourth quarter, putting up four three-pointers. The Owls went on a 10-0 run, which then gave them a double digit lead over the Panthers. McPadden commented on the Owls’ performance Wednesday night and said, “They definitely worked harder than us in the first half, but I think we were able to outwork them in the second half.”
After a big performance from the Owls, they finished the game beating the Panthers 73-54. Coach Keith Boucher was happy with how they played in the second half. “The second half, we talked about playing better defense and I think we did. We obviously eliminated some of our mistakes from the first half as well,” he said.
D’Annolfo has scored 10 or more points in 10 straight games for the Owls and was named to the New England Women’s Basketball Association (NEWBA) Honor Roll earlier this week.
Cameron Mozzer can be contacted at cmozzer@kscequinox.com
Western Connecticut State University
The Keene State women’s basketball team fought off Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Spaulding Gymnasium. This is the fifth straight win for the Lady Owls. Emily McPadden scored six out of her 10 baskets from beyond the arc and a total of 22 points. Stephanie D’Annolfo added 12 points, four rebounds, three assists as well as three steals. Sandi Purcell also scored double digits, hitting 11 points. Amanda Petrow and Josie Amerson each added a game-high of eight rebounds.
Shelby Iava/ Sports Editor
Tied at nine, the Colonials gained a four-point lead on the Owls with 3:19 remaining on the clock. The Owls came back with a layup from Petrow and another basket from beyond the arc by Hien Thach. Two free throws for the Colonials and one for Keene State finished the first quarter in a tie at 17.
Both teams shot back and forth in the beginning of the second. The Owls lead 23-21 with 7:14 to go before the half. Keene State went on a 11-0 run with baskets from D’Annolfo, Purcell, McPadden and Thach to lead Keene into the half 34-21.
In the begining of the third, Kenzie Bennet hit a three to keep the Owls in the lead. The Colonials answered back, scoring the next seven points; at this point, the Colonials were only trailing by six. Western with another layup put them in reach of the Owls 42-35,with 5:15 remaining. McPadden sent off eight straight points to give Keene State a 15-point lead.
The Colonials came back in the fourth with strong shooting from the three-point line, which pulled them within eight. Purcell converted a three-point shot to hold the lead at 11. Western Connecticut was able to pour in 4-for-4 from the three-point line, bringing them within one of the Owls. With just 47 seconds on the clock, Amerson grabbed an offensive rebound to keep Keene State in possession. The Colonials were then able to regain the ball with 11 seconds to go as they charged down the court. Before the final second of the buzzer, Purcell managed to steal the ball. Lydia Vital was able to finish off the game, making two for two of her free throws, ending it 65-62 Keene State.
Shelby Iava can be contacted at siava@kscequinox.com
