WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State women's basketball team rallied in the second half to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but a 17-2 closing run by Keene State ultimately handed Westfield a loss on opening night, 75-65, on Wednesday night from Keene, N.H.
Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) was the only double figure scorer for Westfield, posting 13 points while tying the team lead with eight rebounds. Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) added nine points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) and Ashley Ames (Valatie, N.Y.) followed with eight points.
Valerie Luizzi (Colchester, Conn.), Aryanna Murray (Nashua, N.H.), and Brynn Rautiola (Rindge, N.H.) combined for 45 of Keene's 75 points with each player scoring 15 points.
The Owls trailed by ten points entering the second half, and fell behind by as much as 14 through the midway point of the third quarter. Westfield found a quick scoring burst in the closing minutes of the period with Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.) and Grant stringing together a pair of jumpers, then Gardner followed with a three-pointer to trim the Keene lead in half, 50-43.
Grant made a layup, then with 22 seconds left in the third, Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) connected on a three close the deficit to four points, making it a 52-48 game after three quarters.
Ames, a first-year guard, opened the fourth quarter with a triple, then after a Keene turnover, Bohenko converted on a three-pointer to give Westfield their first lead of the night at 54-52 with eight minutes to play in regulation.
Jackie Alibrandi (Holliston, Mass.) halted the Westfield scoring run with a layup, but Grant and Hadla each recorded baskets in succession to drive the Westfield lead to four points with 5:54 left. Keene shaved the deficit back down to two points before Gardner buried a straight-away three to give Westfield their largest lead of the night with 2:57 to play in the game.
The Gardner three would be the last basket that Westfield would score on the night as Keene State would rally to retake the lead. After a pair of missed Keene free throws, Samantha Lee (Clifton Park, N.Y.) grabbed an offensive rebound and dished the ball to Murray who nailed a three to bring it a two-point game with two minutes left.
Another Keene offensive rebound led to late second chance points with Lilly Krysinski (North Grosvenordale, Conn.) securing an offensive rebound, then finishing through contact to tie the game and take the lead on a three-point play.
Keene State used defense and efficient free throw shooting for the remaining 1:42 to seal the victory as Keene converted on 11 of their final 12 attempts to close the game.
Keene held a slightly higher field goal percentage, connecting on 35.9% (23-64) of their shots to Westfield's 31.9% (23-72). Keene recorded 11 threes on 34 attempts (32.4%) with Westfield hitting nine triples in 34 attempts (26.5%).
Westfield State (0-1) remains on the road for their second game of the season as they travel to Plymouth State University on Saturday for a noon tip-off.