KEENE, N.H. (Nov. 17, 2012) - Three players reached double-figures for Mount Holyoke College, but Keene State College proved to be too much as the host Owls won 67-50 to captured their 15th straight title at the 2012 Keene State Tip-Off. The Lyons slip to 1-1 on the season, while the Owls are now 2-0 overall.
It was a back-and-forth battle to open the game but the Lyons took advantage to grab an 11-7 lead at the 14:23 mark on a three-pointer by senior guard Angelica Pascual. MHC continued to maintain the advantage thanks to a shot from beyond the arc by sophomore guard Kate Karraker at 11:39 to make it 16-12.
Despite the momentum, Siobhan Carnell made it an 18-16 lead for Keene State on a jumper and the Owls began to pull away. A free throw by Laurie Allen with 7:24 left in the half to give KSC a 23-16 advantage.
Back-to-back free throws by Ryanne Williams gave the home team its largest lead of the game (25-18). The Lyons were able to match buckets through the final five minutes, but could not close the gap as the teams headed into halftime with Keene State holding a 33-26 lead.
In the second half, consecutive buckets from sophomore forward Amber Legare made it a three-point gap (33-30), but four points from Williams quickly made it a 39-30 lead for the Owls.
Williams poured in three more points to give Keene State its largest lead at 44-32. A shot from three-point range by Pascual at 6:38 made it an eight-point deficit (52-44) for the Lyons.
The momentum wasn't enough as Keene State rallied, going up by 19 (63-44) on a jumper by Brianna McCain. Pascual added another three-pointer - her third of the game - but the Owls were too strong down the stretch.
For Keene State, Carly Kiernan poured in a game-best 23 points, while Williams added 15 points. McCain chipped in with a game-best 10 rebounds and three steals.
The Lyons saw Legare score 18 points with seven rebounds with a game-high three blocks and a steal. Pascual added 11 points, six rebounds and a game-best three steals, while Karraker had 10 points and a game-high five assists.
Additionally, Legare and Pascual were both named to this year's All-Tournament Team for their efforts. The pair scored a combined 71points and 32 rebounds over the two-day Tip-Off.
Mount Holyoke returns to the court on Tuesday in a 5:30pm contest at #15 Amherst. Keene State is also in action on Tuesday, hosting Trinity (Conn.) at 5:30pm.
