The Keene State Women’s Basketball team lost a close contest in its semi-final game of the Little East Conference (LEC) against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth) on Thursday, Feb. 27. This loss was coming off a win in the quarter finals on the Tuesday prior.
The Owls landed at fifth in the conference to end the regular season, which meant after their win against Eastern Connecticut State University in the quarter-finals they had to face the first seeded UMass Dartmouth. The Corsairs came fresh off of their 23-4 season and hosted the game on their home court.
The game began with the Corsairs showing why they were the number one seed with an 11-point run to distance themselves from the Owls. Two free throws by sophomore Brynn Rautiola ended the scoring for the quarter, and the Owls trailed 11-4.
Keene State refused to let the big first-quarter lead secure the game as Rautiola delivered two three-pointers and some Owl guards put away a few layups in the paint. UMass Dartmouth had a response for almost every KSC basket as they were able to muster several offensive rebounds and supplied themselves with scoring opportunities.
A four-point quarter from junior Valerie Luizzi along with several Rautiola threes added to the KSC effort which had outscored the Corsairs 23-20 in the second quarter. Going into the half the Owls trailed the dominant seed 31-27.
As the half opened, Keene State’s opportunity of knocking off the Corsairs was depleting. First-year Ruby Dasaro opened up the scoring with a quick two which was a third of the points scored by the Owls in the quarter. The Corsairs would hit three back-to-back three pointers and two free throws before the Owls could make another notch in the scoreboard.
The four-point lead at the half was extended to a 14-point lead at the end of the third, making a hard battle for the Owls to fight back.
KSC showed their fighting spirit in the final quarter as Dasaro and Rautiola would add to their totals and end up bringing the game to as close as nine points toward the end of the fourth. The three score game was lost for the Owls, as a turnover and missed shots would allow the Corsairs to extend the game to double digits yet again.
The Corsairs would take their win and move onto the championship. Keene State’s efforts would bring the final score to 66-54 in favor of the home squad and end a playoff year for the Owls.
The Owls’ loss to the number one seed ended their 2024-2025 campaign and started up preparation for their next season which begins late in the fall.
Jacob Enscoe can be contacted at
jenscoe@kscequinox.com
