KEENE, N.H.—Despite outscoring Keene State 27-26 in the second half, UMass Boston women's basketball (3-3, 0-1 Little East) fell short in their Little East Conference opener with a 58-47 loss at the hands of the Owls at Spaulding Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

After opening the second half with a 12-0 run to grab a 33-32 lead, the Beacons were outscored 26-15 the rest of the way, behind a game-high 19 points from Keene State's Kelsey Cognetta. Cognetta knocked down three of the team's eight 3-pointers and Stephanie D'Annolfo added nine points, 17 rebounds and five assists to help the Owls extend their winning streak to four in a row. 

Senior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) just missed out on her first double-double of the year with a team-high 13 points and nine rebounds. Morrison knocked down 6-of-11 of her shots and pulled down three of the Beacons' nine offensive rebounds. 

Sophomore Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) reached double-figures for the first time this season (11 points), while Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) reached double-figures (10 points) for the fifth-time in six games. The Beacons top three scorers accounted for 34 of the team's 47 points and 13 of the team's 16 made field goals.

Keene State led for all but 2:08 in the contest after racing out to a 7-1 lead in the first two minutes. The Beacons used an 8-0 run, with four points apiece from Murphy and Morrison, to cut the deficit to 20-19 with 7:18 to play in the first half, but the Owls responded right back with a 12-1 run to conclude the half.

UMass Boston responded back with their best stretch of the season, as the Beacons scored 12-straight points coming out of the break. Morrison opened the half with a free throw and Burston added a three-point play and a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 32-27 just 72 seconds into the second stanza. After a Keene State timeout and a turnover, Morrison knocked down a layup and Murphy hit two free throws to cut the deficit to one. UMass Boston forced another missed shot and Burston gave the Beacons their first of three leads of the day (33-32) with a jump shot with 16:32 remaining.

The two teams were neck-and-neck over the next 10 minutes, with the teams combining for three ties and seven lead changes.

Keene State finally took control of the game over the final seven minutes, as they used a 10-1 run over a five-minute span to put the Beacons away. D'Annolfo hit a layup to give the Owls a 44-42 lead and Cognetta quickly added a 3-pointer. After two more D'Annolfo free throws, Christian Wotjas iced the game with another 3-pointer to make it 52-43 with 1:52 to play.

UMass Boston shot just 16-of-55 (29.1 percent) from the field and 15 percent (3-of-20) from the 3-point line. The Beacons were also uncharacteristically bad from the free-throw line, shooting a season-low 54.5 percent (12-of-22).

The Beacons kept the game close by holding Keene State to 30.9 percent shooting (17-of-55) from the field and 30.8 percent shooting (8-of-26) from distance. The Owls did hold a decisive 48-36 advantage on the glass. 

After their season-opening six-game road-trip, UMass Boston will return home for the first of six home games Tuesday night when they host Simmons College at 7 p.m.