Keene State Women’s Basketball started off its season with a strong start, going 5-2 through the first seven non-conference games of the season.
The season began with the Owls playing an away game against the Colby Sawyer Chargers, sending the Chargers packing on their home court 89-53. Every Owl got time in the game, with scoring led by junior guard Brynn Rautiola with 30 points. First-year forward Sydney Cassidy led the rookies with 12 points. Head Coach Keith Boucher was happy with Keene State’s performance against the Chargers. “Any time you play on the road and win on the road, it’s a good win,” said Boucher. “We started a little slow, and then we picked up the momentum, and basketball, like any other sport, is a momentum sport.”
The Owls followed up with a runaway win against the New England College Pilgrims in their home opener. Rautiola scored her 1,000th point midway through the game in the 97-57 victory.
The Owls were handed their first loss by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers, surrendering an early lead in the second half. Boucher said the team learned a lot from the loss. “We faced a really good team, and I think you learn a lot more from your losses than you do your wins.”
Boucher said the team’s full-court press style of play leads to the Owls giving up more points. “We’re going to give up some points, but hopefully we can generate more points off our defense, and as far as the other team goes, hopefully their offense will be a little disjointed because they can’t just bring the ball up the court and set up what they want to do,” Boucher said. “It’s going to take them some time to get the ball over half court or into the right player’s hands.”
The Owls followed up RPI with a dominant 107-57 win against the Dean Bulldogs, scoring the most points since 2014. Senior guard Valerie Luizzi scored 14 to hit 900 points exactly. For the second time in the season, every Owl got minutes in the game.
Keene State next hit the court in Williamstown, playing in the Morin Memorial Tournament against SUNY Plattsburgh. The Owls lost in three overtimes, 85-90, to the Cardinals. In the consolation game, Keene State beat Saint Joseph 63-50, earning their fourth win of the season.
Returning home after a weeklong stretch of away games, Keene State won a close game against the Worcester State Lancers 78-70. After a slow first quarter, the Owls struck back in the second and third to win. Luizzi felt good about the win. “It just feels great, getting out and playing again. Starting senior season,” said Luizzi, “We’re playing faster and sharing the ball really well.”
Associate Coach Kevin Justice is looking forward to the upcoming Little East Conference (LEC) play. “Everything changes. They know our personnel. There’s no surprising them,” said Justice. “There’s no team [in the LEC] that’s not dangerous. You know, it doesn’t matter how good or how much they’re struggling. They’re dangerous and they know us.”
The Owls next play the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Saturday, Nov. 6, for their second conference game.
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
fleblanc@kscequinox.com
