Kania, Doucet lead Panthers to fourth straight win

              PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University rallied from a nine-point deficit with five minutes remaining Tuesday evening to pull out a 78-74 victory over Colby-Sawyer College in a non-conference women's basketball game at Foley Gymnasium.

              The Chargers seemed in control with a 71-62 advantage with 5:00 on the second-half clock, but PSU rattled off nine unanswered points over the next three minutes to deadlock the score at 71-all.  Four different Panthers scored points in the run, which was capped by a traditional three-point play by junior Alicia Doucet (Manchester, N.H./Central) with 2:14 to play. Doucet added another basket with 1:23 remaining to give PSU the lead for good, and freshman Sammie Walker (Manchester, N.H./Central) made four straight free throws in the final 15 seconds to preserve the victory.

              Senior Amanda Kania (Manchester, N.H./West) and Doucet combined for 45 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Panthers, who won their fourth straight outing and improved to 4-1 overall.  Kania finished with a game-high 26 points and a team-high 13 rebounds to collect her first double-double of the season, while Doucet added 19 points and five boards.  Kania was good on 4-of-8 shots from three-point range.

              Senior Katelyn Stravinsky (Norwell, Mass.) and sophomore Taylor DeSanty (North Adams, Mass.) matched the PSU tandem for the Chargers, who suffered their first loss of the season, dropping to 4-1.  The Charger duo accounted for 44 points and 11 rebounds.  Stravinsky making 9-of-13 shots, including 5-of-7 from long range, to finish with a team-high 25 points, while DeSanty wound up with 19 points, converting three buckets from beyond the stripe.

              Plymouth State had a small lead much of the first half, but Colby-Sawyer kept it close and took a one-point lead (36-35) into the locker room when Stravinsky nailed a three-pointer just before the break.  The teams traded baskets the first 12 minutes of the second half before the Chargers started to pull away with a 7-1 burst, and a layup by DeSanty gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 71-62.  That's when PSU started its comeback.

              PSU is back in action Thursday with a non-conference clash at Salem State University (6:00 p.m.).  Colby-Sawyer plays another non-conference contest Saturday at Tufts University (2:00 p.m.) 

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