Hartford, Conn. – Junior Christan Wojtas (Amherst, N.H.) made five of nine shots from three-point range and finished with a game-high 17 points to lead the visiting Keene State College Owls to a 60-55 win over the Trinity College Bantams in women's basketball action this evening at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity falls to 1-4 with its fourth straight setback, while the Owls improve to 3-2 with their second victory in a row.

Watch Emily Dixon hit a jumper as the shot clock expires

Trinity found itself in an early hole, as Wojtas hit two early three-pointers to highlight an 11-0 start to the game for the Owls.  Trinity got on the board 5:18 into the game on a drive by senior Taylor Murtaugh (Bronx, N.Y.) and fought its way to a one-point deficit on a jumper by junior forward Hannah Brickley (Melrose, Mass.) that made the score, 19-18, with just under four minutes left before the break.  A put-back by Owl freshman forward Sarah Kober (Easthampton, Mass.) as time expired gave the visitors a 27-24 lead at intermission.

Trailing, 31-28, early in the second half, Trinity used a 7-1 run to take a 35-32 lead on a traditional three-point play by senior Moriah Sweeney (Ramsey, N.J.) at the 15-minute mark.  Keene State went ahead, 44-40, with 8:12 on the clock after a trey by freshman forward Stephanie D'Annolfo (Tyngsborough, Mass.), but Bantam sophomore guard Alexa Menard (Wallingford, Conn.) answered with a trey from the right wing on her first shot of the season and back-to-back buckets by Sweeney gave Trinity a 47-44 advantage with 5:27 remaining. 

The Owls scored seven unanswered points over the next 2:15 and took a 51-47 lead on a jumper by Kober, but Brickley made a jump shot and Sweeney scored after a steal and assist by junior teammate Taylor Higgins (Merrick, N.Y.) to tie the game for the last time at 51-51 with just over two minutes left to play.  Wojtas drilled her fifth three-pointer of the night for a 54-51 Owl lead and two free throws by Sweeney were answered by a basket and foul shot by Keene State junior forward Courtney Roberts (Sutton, Mass.) to make the score, 57-53, in the Owls' favor with 1:13 on the clock.  Trinity turned the ball over on its next two possessions, and the Owls held on despite missing three of six free throws in the final minute.

Trinity started the game with four field goals in its first 20 attempts, before making 17 of 34 the rest of the way, but connected on only four shots in 17 attempts from beyond the arc and made only nine of 15 free-throw tries.  Keene State was an inept 9-for-26 from the charity stripe, but made seven of its 15 long-range shots.  Sweeney paced the Bantams with 15 points, four assists, three rebounds, and a blocked shot, while Murtaugh added 10 points, and senior forward Shantel Hanniford (Nantucket, Mass.) grabbed a team-high six boards.  Cognetta scored 13 points, while Roberts had 12 points, eight rebounds, and three steals, and D'Annolfo finished with game-highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists for Keene State.