Box Score KEENE, N.H.--A career day from Amanda Petrow powered the Keene State women's basketball team past Smith College, 77-55, on Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gym.
The Owls have won four in a row to open the season for the first time since 2009. Smith drops to 1-2.
Keene State used strong first and third quarters to pull away from the Pioneers. Petrow finished the game with 17 points as she got the game going with a layup at the 8:55 mark, and capped a 9-0 run with another short hoop with 5:35 left in the first quarter.
Back-to-back layups by Ryanne Williams and Stephanie D'Annolfo upped the lead to 19-9, and Valerie Martin connected on a three pointer with 24 ticks on the clock for a 22-9 lead after one.
The Owls repeatedly pounded the ball in to Petrow in the post, as the junior scored again for a 29-17 lead with
5:02 left in the first half. The Pioneers pulled within 10 on
Jade Chihara (Lahaina, Hawaii/Lahainaluna)'s three with 18 seconds remaining, but Smith fouled with 0.01 seconds left in the half and Kelsey Cognetta made the first for a 37-26 lead at halftime.
Keene State opened the third quarter on a 13-0 burst, as Cognetta hit a three and Sarah Kober converting a three point play for a 50-26 advantage.
Sydney Koh (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside)'s jumper just ahead of the third quarter buzzer pulled the Pioneers back to 66-36 at the end of the third period.
Smith scored 14 of the first 19 points of the fourth quarter to get within 69-50, but would not get any closer than 22 the rest of the way.
Cognetta finished with 14 points, and Emily McPadden came off the bench to score 11 points in 11 minutes. Sarah Kober nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, and Stephanie D'Annlfo fell just short of a triple-double with eight points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.
Keene State limited Smith to 32% shooting from the field, while the Owls knocked down 10 of 18 attempts from behind the arc.
First-year
Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) led the Pioneers with 11 points.
Erin Hanley (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prep) came off the bench and totaled nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while
Samantha Alakai (Pukalani, Hawaii/Punahou School) finished with eight points, three steals and two rebounds.
Smith hosts Wentworth Institute of Technology Tuesday, November 24 at 6:00 p.m. Keene State will play once more before Thanksgiving, traveling to Endicott on the same day for a 5 p.m. tip-off.
