Women's Basketball Falls To Keene State, 66-60

Keene, NH --- Keene State senior Sibohan Carnell (Quincy, MA) finished with a game-best 21 points to go with 12 rebounds as she helped lead the Owls to a 66-60 victory over Worcester State in non-conference women's basketball action this evening at Keene's Spalding Gym.

The Owls (5-6) were also led by Christen Wojtas (Amherst, NH) who added 18 points off a 6-for-12 performance from beyond the arc as sophomore Nikki Stacy (Uxbridge, MA) finished with 10 points and a trio of assists.

Stacey and freshman Ryanne Williams (Norwell, MA) combined nine of the squads 15 swipes as they helped force 22 Lancer miscues. Carnell was 11-for-11 from the charity stripe for KSC.

For Worcester State (4-8), senior Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) recorded her sixth double-double of the season in the losing effort with squad highs of 20 points and 13 boards. Sophomore transfer Julie Frankian (Millbury, MA) also chipped in with 12 points and five caroms.

Second-year Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, MA) notched eight points and four rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench for WSU.

As Keene State led 45-40 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the second period, the Owls embarked on a 14-5 spurt to take over a commanding 59-45 advantage with 3:36 left in regulation.

But the Lancers battled back with an 11-3 run to trail 62-56 at the 1:06 mark on the back of a McPherson three-pointer.

In the waning moments, senior Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) drained another Blue and Gold trey with seven seconds left to make the score a 64-60 contest, but the Owls prevailed when Carnell sank the final two free throws to seal things up.

Worcester State had the early 9-0 lead, but the Owls responded with a 15-5 surge go up by one with 9:37 left in the first half (15-14).

With Keene State nursing the 21-19 edge with 5½ minutes remaining, however, the Lancers closed out the frame with a 9-4 run to lead at the intermission 30-25.

There were a pair of ties and lead change before the Owls made the game a two-possession contest with 12:27 remaining on a Carnell lay-up to set the stage for their big rally at the midway point.

Worcester State connected for 42 percent of their shots from the field for the game (24-for-57) and they were 7-for-16 from three point land (44 percent). The visitors also led in rebounds (39-33) and points in the paint (26-14).

Keene State led in points off turnovers (20-10) and second chance points (14-12) while they hit eight of 17 from downtown (47 percent).

Both squads will play conference opponents on Saturday afternoon. Worcester State hosts Framingham State at 3 PM to open MASCAC play while the Owls travel to nationally-ranked Southern Maine for a 1 o'clock matchup.