Keene State Defeats Curry 82-61 to Reach WPI Invitational Final
Keene State 82, Curry 61
Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Nicole Simmler (Oxford, MA) scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Keene State College women's basketball team to an 82-61 victory over Curry College in the second game of the eighth annual WPI Invitational presented by Hilton Garden Inn.
Keene State (4-4) will play WPI in the championship game on Monday (3pm). WPI defeated Wesley College (68-54) in the other first-round contest. Curry will face Wesley in the consolation match at 1pm.
Kristin Degou (Newburyport, MA) had 16 points, while Danielle Graveley (Schenectady, NY) and Jenn Kinney (Salem, NH) chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively, to round out KSC's double-figure scorers. Alyssa Sapp (Hartford, VT) led the Owls on the glass with nine rebounds.
Trailing 13-5, Keene State used a 15-0 run sparked by Sapp's mid-court pass to Michelle Boland (Worcester, MA) for a quick lay-in to take a 20-13 advantage. The Owls scored 11 of the next 15 points to build a commanding 40-24 halftime lead.
KSC pushed its lead up to 25 (58-33) on a pair of free throws from Simler at 12:54 in the second half. Curry chipped away at the lead with 11 straight points for a 15-point deficit (43-58), but would get no closer.
Cortney Robinson (Brockton, MA) led Curry (3-4) with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Emma Dickson (North Yarmouth, ME) finished with 13 points and eight boards. Christina Sancinito (Wakefield, MA) contributed with a game-best four blocks.