BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team improved to 9-2 in the CCC after the team's 60-46 win over the Nichols College Bison Wednesday evening.

The first half consisted mainly of trading baskets between the Hawks and the Bison. After a slow start for both sides, a steal by senior guard Ari Renwick (Westwood, Mass.) for a layup put the Hawks on the board at the 18:36 mark. Nichols responded quickly on a made jumper by senior guard Devon Spirka (Wilmington, Vt.). Another steal by Renwick lead to an Angelica Ariola (Prospect, Conn.) layup where Nichols was able to answer on the next possession on a jumper by sophomore guard Jessica Kelliher (Marshfield, Mass.).

At the 16:10 mark Ariola sunk a three pointer to put the hawks up 7-4, but the Hawks were unable to capitalize on their next few possessions and a layup by Nichols guard Kasey Pelletier cut the lead to one.

The Hawks kept the pressure up on defense with a 1-2-2 press that resulted in another steal and made jumper for Renwick to give the Hawks a 9-8 lead.

Despite the solid defensive effort, Nichols was able to go on 7-0 run putting them up 15-10 late in the half, but a key three by Rachel Battista (Johnston, R.I.) cut the lead back to two and the teams continued to trade baskets.

The Hawks were able to pull ahead going into the locker room with a 23-22 lead. Renwick proved to be a spark the Hawks with both her offense and defense with five steals and eight points in the half.

A made three by Renwick at the 19:25 began a 9-0 run by the Hawks that put them up by 10 and they never looked back. 

The Bison were able to cut the lead to eight with 7:41 left in the game on a layup by junior guard Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.), but they would only come as close as seven as key consecutive baskets by sophomore forward Shannon Cullen (Walpole, Mass.), junior Amanda Keane (Wilmington, Mass.) and senior Kaitlyn Bovee (Berlin, Conn.) put the Hawks up 52-42.

The Hawks sealed the win as Nichols reached the foul limit and sent Ariola and Renwick to the line where they went a combined 4-4 to give the Hawks a 60-45 lead.

Renwick finished the game with 19 points and a career-high seven steals, while Ariola shot 5-of-9 from the field and chipped in with 17. Bovee (Berlin, Conn.) had a game-high nine rebounds to go along with six points, two blocks, and three steals.

Spirka led the way for the Bison with 13 points and a team-high six steals, while Litwinko added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Roger Williams will travel to Western New England this Saturday February 1st at 1:00 p.m. Nichols will also play on Saturday as they host Salve Regina University at 12:00 p.m.