KEENE, NH – Senior
Jaycie Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) and sophomore
Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick) combined for 48 points and 20 rebounds to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 71-47 win over the Keene State College Owls in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Christopher led all scorers with 25 points and nine rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 mark from the free throw line. Shipley had a double-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots shooting 9-for-15 from the field.
Keene State's Brynn Rautiola led the Owls with 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three. Bella Shultz-Mitchell and Kiley Bundy each had eight points for the Owls.
The Records:
Southern Maine (10-1, 3-0 Little East)
Keene State (8-3, 2-1 Little East)
Today's meeting is the 72nd between the Keene State College Owls and the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Southern Maine leads the overall series 52-20. The Huskies have won three consecutive over the Owls and are 9-2 against the Owls in their last 11 meetings dating back to the 2019-2020 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- With the game tied up at five following a Ratioula driving layup at the 5:43 mark, Southern Maine went on a 16-0 run to close out the first quarter and take an impressive 21-5 lead into the second quarter. The Huskies were 7-for-15 in the quarter, and were led by 12 points from Shipley and six from Christopher.
- Christopher scored the first bucket of the second quarter to advance the Huskies' lead to 18, 23-5, early, and the Huskies led by 22, 30-8 on a jumper from graduate student Liz Cote (Conway, NH/Kennett) at the 5:46 mark. However, the Owls responded, finding their offense and closing the half on an 18-7 run to trim their deficit in half, 37-26. The Owls were 6-for-11 from the field in the run and were led by eight points from Rautiola, and eight from Bundy.
- KSC continued its run to start the third as Rautiola hit a floating jumper and Valerie Luizzi canned a three to make it a six-point game, 37-31, with just under nine to play in the frame.
- Both teams went back and forth over the next five minutes and Shutlz-Mitchell had the Owls down two possessions, 44-38, with 4:04 to play in the third before USM rattled off 13 unanswered points over the next 2:54 to seize control 57-38. Shooting 5-for-7 from the field, sophomore Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy), and Christopher each had four while Shipley had three in the run. Ratioula stymied the Husky-run scoring the final bucket of the third as time expired for a 57-40 USM lead.
- Avery Stewart started the fourth scoring for the Owls, but Christopher responded with a three as USM outscored Keene State 12-4 in the first five minutes of the fourth. Four different players figured in the scoring led by five from Christopher for a 69-44 Southern Maine lead with 5:01 to play. From there, neither team made any runs for the 71-47 final.
Inside The Statistics:
- Southern Maine led in rebounding 41-30, and had a 13-8 lead in offensive boards. The Huskies scored 14 second-chance points.
- Southern Maine scored 32 of its 41 points in the paint.
- The Huskies' held the Owls to their second-lowest scoring game of the 2025-2026 season. The Owls entered the game leading the Little East Conference in scoring at 80.0 per game. The Huskies entered the game holding their opponents to a league-best 50.4 points per game.
Up Next:
The Huskies remain in LEC action, and host Rhode Island College on Tuesday, January 6 (5:30 pm). Southern Maine is back on the road at VTSU-Castleton on Saturday, January 10 (1:00 pm).
-cac-
