Women’s Basketball
The Keene State College women’s basketball team took a conference win on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The Owls took a double-digit lead and ended the game 63-47 on the Panther’s stomping ground.
Junior Sandi Purcell and senior Stephanie D’Annolfo lead the Owls to victory. Purcell had a game-high of 15 points, whereas D’Annolfo shot 13. Sophomore Emily McPadden also scored double digits- she had 11 points and five rebounds. Senior Amanda Petrow was the final Owl that received double digits and racked up 10 points for the Owls.
The Owls came out strong and kept with it the entire length of the game. D’Annolfo and Purcell had back-to-back lay ups. The Panthers quickly reacted and tied it up. Purcell hit a basket from beyond the arc and junior guard Lydia Vital added another lay up. The Owls were up 12-4 with 6:17 left to go in the first. Even though the Owls had the lead, the Panthers did not give up. Jumper Cassidy Emerson brought the Panthers within four points at the end of the first, leaving the score 17-13 Keene State.
Beginning in the second quarter, the Owls opened with back-to-back layups. The Panthers were only able to stack four points before the Owls went on a 17-0 run. Purcell started the fire with a basket with 5:49 remaining on the clock. Just as the Owls were ending their half, first-year forward Rachel Bonnanzio sank a three-pointer to end it at half time.
Keene State kept strong and extended their lead to 30 points in the third quarter. D’Annolfo and first-year forward Kenzie Bennett were a big part of that 30-point lead. The Owls finished the third with a double-digit lead 58-31.
In the final quarter, the Panthers got close but not close enough. The Panthers managed to limit the Owls to just five points, but they fell short at the sound of the buzzer. Taking the win, Keene State will remain as the top seed in the Little East Conference.
Men’s Basketball
The Keene State men’s basketball team will remain in the top three of the Little East Conference (LEC), as they took home the win on Jan. 19. The Owls took an 82-70 win at the Foley Gymnasium.
Free throws seemed to carry this game for the Keene State Owls. The Owls shot 31 for 41 free throw attempts, which was 75.6 percent of the shots. Senior guard Matthew Ozzella and junior guard Dizel Wright both racked up a high of 16 points each. Ozzella added another 15 rebound and made 12 of 14 free throw shots. Sophomore forward Ty Nichols and senior guard Lucas Hammel both received 12 points a piece, while senior guard Jaquel Edwards added 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
The Owls came out in the first with an 8-6 lead. Nichols sank a pair of free throws, but the Panthers reacted quickly. With a 9-2 run, the Panthers took the lead 15-10 with 15:27 on the clock. First-year Jake Collagan gave five straight shots for the Owls, which gave them a 19-18 advantage. The game stayed close as both LEC teams fought to stay in the lead. With 8:20 left on the clock, the scoreboard was tied 24-24.
The Owls ignited and scored the next eight points closing out the half. The Owls now had a 46-34 lead at the half.
Coming into the second half, the Owls never let the Panthers in reach of them. Junior and forward Jimmy Layman found his way to the court and converted a three-point play, setting the score 55-38.
Wright’s jump shots gave the Owls their biggest lead of 73-53, and the Owls coasted their way to the win.
Shelby Iava can be contacted at siava@kscequinox.com