Panther’s free-throws send KSC Owls home to roost

John LaPierre

He/him

Staff Writer

2/2/24

Thursday night at Foley Gymnasium, Plymouth State University Women’s Basketball welcomed in conference rival Keene State College to campus.  The Panthers came into this game with an overall record of 8-10 and a Little Eastern Conference record of 4-6 . Meanwhile, the Owls came in with 9-9 and  5-5, respectively.

The Panthers started the game on fire with three-pointers from Raven Premat, Bri Wilcox, Alli Ingalis, and Raegan Peck. Keene’s offense couldn’t generate any momentum until around the 6:45 mark. The Panther’s defense was lights out from the start, causing the Owls to allow unneeded turnovers and contested shots.

 Plymouth was excellent at grabbing defensive rebounds which led to quick transitions offensively. Keene State’s offense finally began to put up points late in the 1st quarter.

The Owls went from an 11-3 deficit to only being down 20-18 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter started slow for the Panthers, with Wilcox getting a crucial steal but was fouled in transition. Both teams struggled early on with turnovers in which most were travels.

 After a long five-minute drought of no points, Lauren Keller gets the Panthers on the board with a three-pointer. That momentum wouldn’t continue for the rest of the 2nd, as there were more turnovers than points scored by a landslide. This allowed Keene State to get their first lead of the game late in the quarter heading into halftime up 31-27.

The third quarter looked to be a sloppy start by both teams, as several fouls and turnovers would occur early. The Owls managed to get their second lead halfway through the quarter. 

Both offenses were ice-cold and while they were able to capitalize on scoring chances, both defenses stayed strong and consistent. The Panthers didn’t score any points for seven straight minutes, a point drought that had the Panthers on their heels. Because of this, Keene State was able to grab a decent lead up six 42-36 heading into the fourth and final quarter. 

The Plymouth State Panthers, hoping to not allow Keene State to run away with this game, entered the fourth going an 8-0 run to go up 44-42.

Keene State, trying to revive their defensive strength, suffered a crucial loss, as Samantha Lee suffered an injury late in the quarter; A massive blow for the Owl’s defense. Lee was able to come back later in the quarter, but both teams had found themselves tied all up at 48 with 2:05 left in the game.

Throughout the game, it was a hard-fought affair for both teams. In the end, the Panthers were able to knock down six crucial free throws to ultimately seal the victory over a crucial conference opponent. 

“I think that, as an organization, we have really pushed for a new approach to women’s basketball and the overall culture that the Plymouth State team has to offer. We have been pushing to beat Keene” shared Wilcox “We also did this for one another cause we are finding new ways to play Plymouth State basketball and today was a day we played intense, up-tempo, and gritty basketball!”

Coming up, Panthers will celebrate Local Youth Basketball Day and will later  welcome Little Eastern Conference Rhode Island College on Saturday for a 1:00pm tipoff. As for the Owls, they will travel to Little Eastern conference opponent Umass-Boston on Saturday for a 3:30pm tipoff.