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Owl Hoop Teams Hosts Tip Off Tournaments
KEENE, N.H. 11/19/08 - A little bit later than usual, Keene State College men's and women's basketball teams will host tip-off tournaments this weekend at Spaulding Gym. The NCAA moving the start of the season to Nov. 15 pushed back the tournaments a week.
The 13th Annual Keene State Women's Basketball Tournament gets
underway on Friday with the Owls facing Johnson &Wales
University at 3 p.m. the University of New England will take on
SUNY-Potsdam in the other first-round game at 5 p.m. Consolation (1
p.m.) and championship games (3 p.m.) are scheduled for
Saturday.
The ninth annual KSC Noyes Volkswagen Men's Basketball
Tournament tips off at 7 p.m. on Friday with Keene State going up
against Maine-Machias. Daniel Webster College will take on
Hampshire College from Amherst, Mass. at 9 p.m. The tournament
concludes on Saturday with consolation (5:30 p.m.) and championship
games (7 p.m.).
The Owl women, who have won their tournament 11 out of the past 12 years, bring a 3-0 record into Friday's first-round game. The Owls opened their season by posting wins over Elmira College (60-41) and Emerson College (51-43) to capture the Emerson College Tip-Off Tournament last weekend. Kristin Degou, who averaged 16 points and eight rebounds in the two games, was named the tournament's MVP. Degou scored a game-high 17 points and senior point guard Michele Boudreau finished with a season high 15 points, eight assists, and four steals to lead the Owls over Nichols (61-47) on Tuesday.
Johnson & Wales, a member of the Great Northeast Athletic
Conference, brings a 2-0 record into the tournament. The
Wildcats opened their season with a 79-60 victory over Roger
Williams University. Senior Johanna Santosuosso scored 20
points and Alyse Ragaglia and Jeniphr Moxley had 18 points each to
lead JWU. On Monday,
Santosuosso had a game-high 30 points while going 11-for-12 from
the field with six three-pointers and seven assists and Alexia
Ramirez narrowly missed a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds
and seven blocks in a 99-37 win over Wheelock College.
Suny-Postdam begins its season at this weekend's Tip-Off tournament. Last season the Bears went 16-12 overall and 11-5 in the SUNYAC as they advanced to post-season conference play for the first time in many years. Though falling short at the SUNYAC's, Potsdam continued tournament play as they advanced to the ECAC Tournament where they defeated RIT in the quarterfinal before being denied in the semi-final by Oneonta. Top returning players for the Bears include junior guards Courtney Poirier (16.6 ppg.) and Rachel Graf (10.4 ppg.) and seniors Maureen Curley (6.9 rpg.) and Kelsey Shoen (5.6 rpg.).
Coached by former Owl assistant Anthony Ewing, the University of New England enters the tournament with a 1-1 record. The Nor'easters, a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, opened their season with a 93-79 win over Maine Maritime before falling to Southern Maine (77-57) on Tuesday. Senior Alli Gamache and first-year Kari Pelletier combined to score 38 points in UNE's win over Maine Maritime Academy. Pelletier and Kelley Paradis each scored 11 points to pace the Nor'easters against USM. First-year forwards Margo Russell and Hillary Laferriere both tossed in eight points, while Russell nabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Keene State defeated Fitchburg State 63-60 to claim last year's
Invitational championship.
Entering the tournament with a 0-2 record, Keene State is looking for its 9th straight tournament title and its first win of the season. The Owls opened their season with an 81-70 loss to Williams College. Senior forward Tyler Kathan, a D3Hoops.com preseason All-American, led the Owls with 20 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Bryan O'Leary chipped in with a career high 12 points. On Tuesday, the Owls dropped a 68-63 non-conference game to Springfield College. Kathan scored all of his 17 points in the second half and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead KSC.
A NAIA member of the Sunrise Conference, Maine-Machias brings a 3-2 record into the tournament. After dropping a pair of games to Hesser College (69-64) and host Maine-Augusta (95-72) at the UCU Classic, the Clippers rebounded with a 74-69 win over Thomas College on Monday. Eric Righter had 28 points and 13 rebounds in the loss to Maine-Augusta. Righter led a balanced attack against Thomas College with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Clippers advanced to the finals of the KSC Tip-Off Tournament in 2003 and 2005.
A member of the newly formed New England Collegiate Conference, Daniel Webster began its season with an 86-37 win over Vaughn College and played Johnson State on Wednesday. Brian Inge had 19s points in DWC's win against Vaughn, First- year Coach Dave Faucher, who previously directed the program at Dartmouth, inherits 12 letter winners including four starters from last year's club that posted a 7-19 overall mark including a 5-13 record in its final year of Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. Newcomer shooting guard Chris Hanson earned the first conference "Rookie of the Year" award in Eagles program history.
An independent team, Hampshire College enters the tournament with a 3-2 record. The Black Sheep, coached by Troy Hill, return 13 players from last year's team that finished with a 13-9 record. Top returning players include seniors Scott Atherley (14 ppg.), Cody Tanner-Barrup, and sophomore Sayer Wickham (12 ppg., 7 rpg.).
Keene State defeated Lasell College 83-73 to win last year's tournament championship.
