KEENE, N.H.—Despite a career-high 20 points from freshman guard Ariana Rivera (Burlington, Mass.), UMass Boston women's basketball suffered a 75-59 road loss to Little East Conference foe Keene State College Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

Keene State College 75, UMass Boston 59

(UMass Boston 10-9, Little East 3-6)

(Keene State 16-3, Little East 6-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Keene State outscored the Beacons in three of four quarters and used a 14-3 run bridging the third quarter into the four to earn the season-sweep of the Beacons.

Leading by just four points (43-39) with 1:09 to go in the third, Keene State went on a 7-1 run to close the quarter and then outscored UMass Boston 7-2 in the opening 2:30 of the fourth stanza.

Rivera was the lone Beacon to reach double-figures, as the freshman knocked down a career-high five three's and finished 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from distance. Rivera had recorded just 16 points in the Beacons' last 10 games and came into the contest with seven career made 3-pointers.

Senior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) added nine points and a team-best nine rebounds, while Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) tacked on nine points and a team-high six assists.

Junior Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) tacked on six points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes of play.

The Owls were led by a 25-point performance from sophomore guard Sandi Purcell. Purcell hit seven threes in the contest and finished 9-of-17 from the field. Amanda Petrow chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds, while fellow big Sarah Kober added eight rebounds and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Despite falling behind by 13 (18-5) in the opening 5:46, UMass Boston was within two to three possessions of the Owls for the majority of the first three quarters. The Beacons found themselves down 20-14 after one, 33-27 at halftime and trailing by just four (43-39) with 1:09 left in the third.

Keene State put the game away though with their 14-3 run, as Stephanie D'Annolfo and Petrow combined for nine of the team's 14 points over a 3:39 span.

Trailing by 15 with 7:30 to play, UMass Boston never got closer than nine, as the Owls hit 12-of-14 free throws down the stretch.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston knocked down a season-high 10 3-pointers in the loss. They finished 10-of-25 (40 percent) on the day.
• The Beacons struggled from inside the paint though, as they finished with a 32.0 percent (16-of-50) field goal percentage and a 17-of-30 (56.7 percent) mark from the free throw line.
• Keene State dominated the Beacons on the boards, as they earned a 47-30 edge.
• Behind 29 combined points from Rivera and Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass.), UMass Boston's bench outscored the Owls 34-13. 

WHO'S NEXT

UMass Boston will close out non-conference play on Tuesday, when they make the short trip to Suffolk University for a 7 p.m. contest.