Freshman Kristen Reske scored 12 points and Sophomore Danielle Jones added nine, but it was not enough as the Owls of Keene State pulled away midway through the second half for a 58-40 victory over UMass Boston on Saturday, January 31. The loss dropped the Beacons to 6-11 and 2-7 in the Little East Conference.

The week was not a total loss for the team. Four days earlier, senior Indya Mitchell hit a game winning shot against UMass Dartmouth, drilling a three pointer as time expired to give the Beacons an exciting 60-57 win. The shine from that victory was dulled two days later, however, as UMB dropped a game on the road to Springfield College, 76-43.

Although Keene State had the lead for almost the entire game, the Beacons did not allow the score to get out of hand. Several times, the Owls tried to pull away, but the defense of UMB did not allow their opponents to get into an offensive rhythm.

The problem for the Beacons, however, was that they could not develop an offensive rhythm either. But the Owls couldn’t manage more than a five-point halftime lead.

The start of the second half mirrored the first half in many respects: a lot of missed shots and not a lot of points. UMB was within striking distance until the Owls went on 8-0 run with about seven minutes remaining. Keene State never looked back from that point.

The Beacons play again on Saturday, February 7 on the road against Rhode Island College at 1pm. The team has six games remaining in the season and is trying to position itself for a higher seed for the end of the season LEC tournament.