KSC drops Little East opener to Huskies

EAGLE TIMES STAFF
KEENE, NH — The Keene State College women’s basketball team cut a 24-point third quarter deficit to 7 with 1:40 to go but couldn’t get any closer as the University of Southern Maine did enough to hold on for a 54-47 victory in the Little East Conference opener for both teams at Spaulding Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, Dec. 2.

The comeback attempt was fueled by a big effort from Brynn Rautiola, who continues to impress in her rookie season, finishing with (by far) a game-high 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting (5-for-10 from three, 4-of-6 at the foul line) including 15 points (4-8 FG, 3-4 3-PT, 4-6 FT) in the second half. In the fourth quarter alone, she scored 12 points (of her team’s 19, and double Southern Maine’s quarter total) and made three consecutive triples in less than 2 minutes to chop 9 points off what had been a 52-29 deficit with 7:45 to go. The standout first year made two shots at the charity stripe with 5:03 left to make it a 12-point game, and the Owls kept edging closer, getting within 52-42 after Valerie Luizzi also made a pair of free throws 30 seconds later. A hiccup in the momentum came when KSC had a layup stuffed by Jade Smedberg after forcing a Huskies turnover, and Smedberg then scored on the other end to make it 54-42 with a little less than 4 minutes remaining. Luizzi spun to the hoop for a layup with 2:15 on the clock to make it a 10-point deficit again, and after yet another USM miscue (they finished with 34 turnovers on the day), she was fouled while making a layup. The sophomore made the ensuing free throw to make it 54-47 with still 1:40 to go. Luizzi then picked the pocket of Tara Flanders and had a chance to bring KSC even closer 20 seconds later but could not convert on the other end. The Owls wound up missing their final four shots, stalling a comeback bid from what had been a 48-24 deficit with 1:38 left in the third quarter. Rautiola and Luizzi combined for 22 of the Owls’ 23 points in what ended up being a 23-6 run over 9:15 of game action. KSC was also 10-for-15 from the foul line in that span, and the Huskies committed nine turnovers.

Ultimately, prior to the rally, it was a cold-shooting game and a problematic start to the second half that doomed the Owls. Southern Maine carried a 27-18 lead into the locker room at halftime despite 18 miscues, as KSC shot just 7-for-29 (24 percent) in the opening 20 minutes and made only 2-of-14 threes. Right out of the locker room, the Huskies embarked on a 21-6 surge over 7:51 to take their game-high lead, making 8-of-13 shots from the floor in that span and 4-of-7 from three. KSC was just 3-for-11 in that timeframe and began the game by shooting 10-for-41 (24 percent) over the opening 28:22. The Huskies built the 24-point advantage (which was 12-6 after one) thanks to 50 percent shooting and an 8-of-17 mark in that same span.

Keene State’s lone lead of the game (1-0) came on a Samantha Lee free throw 13 seconds in, and KSC then surrendered 12 of the next 14 points to fall into a 12-3 deficit over the game’s first 8:25. Much like later in the second half, the Owls also clawed back as the first progressed, making it 12-9 on a three by Rautiola in the opening 18 seconds of the second quarter and then 17-16 on another triple from her that preceded a layup from Avery Stewart, but USM finished on a 10-2 spurt in the final 6:08 of the opening half to build the 9-point lead before blowing the game open — ultimately just enough — in the third quarter.

Tara Flanders paced Southern Maine with 12 points (4-10 FG, 3-3 FT) and 12 rebounds, but turned the ball over 11 times. Tamrah Gould (4-7 FG, 2-3 3-PT) and Liz Cote (4-5 FG, 2-3 3-PT) scored 10 points apiece.

Lee finished with nine points and nine rebounds for the Owls, who wound up shooting 26 percent from the floor.

Keene State will travel to face Plymouth State University (5-2, 1-0 LEC) on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 p.m. The Panthers opened their league slate with a 79-70 win at struggling Western Connecticut State University (1-6) on Saturday and have matched their win total from a season ago under first year head coach Curtis Arsenault.