QUINCY, Mass. – Eastern Nazarene faced Roger Williams to open the second half of conference play at the Lahue Physical Education Center on Wednesday night. The first contest between the two teams in Bristol, R.I. on November 30, 2011 resulted in a tough overtime loss for the Lions. Wednesday's rematch was all RWU, as the Hawks locked down a decisive 72-49 victory.
With the win, Roger Williams improves to 9-8 in 2011-2012 and 6-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. ENC, who dropped their third straight contest, falls to 7-9 on the season and 4-6 in conference play.
The visiting Hawks flew out of the gate, scoring 12 unanswered points in the opening five minutes. During the stretch, all five of the Roger Williams starters scored, with RWU's junior forward Alexandria Lanieri (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) accounting for six of her team's points. Lion's head coach Sacha Santimano called a timeout to wake her team up, resulting in two points from ENC junior Alexis Malloy to put the home team on the board. Eastern Nazarene picked up the tempo, scoring 17 in the final fourteen minutes, but Roger Williams continued their aggressive team play and took a 39-21 lead into the locker room at the half.
Lanieri tallied 18 first half points and seven rebounds. Sophomore teammate Kaitlyn Bovee (Berlin, Conn.) followed suit, putting up nine points and five rebounds for the Hawks.
Sophomore Dianna Bonds was a bright spot for the Lions, grabbing six off of the glass and scoring four. Malloy scored a team-high seven points in the half.
The Lions struggled from the free throw line in the opening period, going 0-7, while the Hawks shot a perfect 4-4. RWU displayed accuracy from the field, hitting 17-38 (44.7%), compared to the Lions 10-27 (37.0 %). The Hawks also held the edge in rebounds with 25, in contrast to the Lions 16.
The second half proved more fruitful for ENC as they were able score 28, but Roger Williams went an impressive 14-28 from the field to score 33 points of their own en route to their ninth victory of the season. ENC shot a woeful 2-14 from the free throw line in the contest. The Lions were also out-rebounded 45-39 by the Hawks.
Four players concluded the game in double figures for RWU. Lanieri led the pack with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double. Bovee scored 13 on 5-8 shooting and finished with six rebounds. Freshman Lisa Lutz (Downers Grove, Ill.) matched Bovee in rebounds, chipped in 11 points and garnered a game-high five assists for the Hawks. Classmate Amanda Keane (Wilmington, Mass.) tallied 12 points and three assists in the game.
Bonds completed the contest with a double-double of her own, scoring a team-high 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for the Lions. Malloy and junior Shardae Brown finished with nine and eight points, respectively. Freshman Kori Sorensen hit two from downtown in the contest to score seven points for ENC. Junior's Mel Green and Ace Carradine scored six apiece in the loss.
Eastern Nazarene heads to Wentworth on Saturday January 28th for a 1:00 p.m. contest. Roger Williams returns to Bristol, R.I. to face Endicott the same day and time.
- Release courtesy of the Eastern Nazarene College Sports Information Department
