Women’s Basketball wraps up 2014 with win over Wheaton

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team staved off a late rally from Wheaton College (Mass.) to hold on for a 68-61 win Tuesday evening in the Hawks' final game of 2014.

The Lyons erased an 11-point second half deficit to regain the lead, yet timely shooting by the Hawks down the stretch helped the team come back and come away with the victory.

Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H.) opened the game with a three-pointer for the Lyons before the Hawks responded with a 12-3 run, capped off by a layup by Lisa Lutz (Downers Grove, Ill.) Wheaton would score seven straight points, with Oppie Morris (Ware, Mass.) getting a putback off an offensive board to put the Lyons back on top.

Roger Williams eventually managed to go back up by seven (20-13) thanks to a three-pointer by Rachel Battista (Johnston, R.I.). Yet the Lyons climbed their way back in, with Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y.) laying in a bucket to knot the game at 22 with 6:53 left in the first half. The Hawks closed out the period on a 10-4 run, going into halftime up by six.

In the second half, the Hawks slowly built their lead up, keeping the advantage at two possessions for the early part of the period. Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game, as her layup with 11:14 to play put the Hawks up 46-35.

From there, Wheaton began to dump the ball down low and let the post players work. The move worked, as the Lyons scored on six of their next seven possessions. Shoemaker scored six points over the stretch, including the bucket that tied the game at 50 with 6:28 to play.

With the Hawks holding on to a slim 56-55 lead, Emma Klis (East Northport, N.Y.) knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to help build the lead to five with 2:30 to play. Wheaton's Kristen Ferrari (Lynn, Mass.) put in a layup to cut it to three, but that would be the Lyons' final field goal until the closing seconds of the game. Wheaton failed to score on three of its final four possessions, with the Hawks holding on for the win.

Nicholas finished with a career-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Klis also set a new career best with 16 points, while Angelica Ariola (Prospect, Conn.) added 16 as well. Lutz chipped in with two points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Shoemaker led the Lyons with 22 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Arnone added 14 points and four assists, while Morris went for ten points and eight rebounds.

Roger Williams (5-5) will be off for a week before hosting Eastern Nazarene College next Tuesday. Wheaton (5-5) welcomes Mount Holyoke on Saturday.

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