Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to earn a 68-58 victory over Western New England University in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both teams on Wednesday evening at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
Sophomore forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) made 7-of-10 field goals and 1-of-2 free throws on her way to a career-high 15 points.
Junior guard Caroline Niland (Waltham, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points off the bench, while senior guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) added ten points and five assists.
Junior guard Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) grabbed a career and game-high 11 rebounds to go with four points, one assist, one steal and one block.
Roger Williams senior forward
Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) led four Hawks in double figures with a game-high 16 points and seven boards.
Sophomore Gabby Jerahian (Quincy, Mass.) contributed 15 points, while seniors
Anna Walther (Northampton, Mass.) and
Teagan Dunn (Burlington, Conn.) finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Roger Williams raced out to a 6-0 lead less than a minute and a half into the contest, and the Hawks held an 11-4 advantage midway through the period when Walther connected from beyond the arc. The Golden Bears fought back to tie the game, however, as O'Neill drained a three at the buzzer to knot the score at 15-15 through ten minutes of play.
Western New England took its first lead (16-15) on a free throw by Carlson early in the second quarter. The Golden Bears held their largest advantage of the half at 25-20 on a layup by sophomore Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) with 5:22 on the clock, and they took a four-point lead (27-23) into the locker room.
After another layup by Orbann in the opening seconds of the second half gave Western New England a 29-23 edge, the Hawks responded with a 12-0 over the next six minutes to regain a 35-29 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter. Niland snapped the scoreless drought with a trey at the 3:47 mark, but the Golden Bears faced a 46-43 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Carlson and Gilhool both scored early in the final period as Western New England stayed within striking distance, but a 6-0 Roger Williams run put the visitors ahead by seven (54-47) with 6:13 to go.
The Golden Bears got as close as four (54-50) when O'Neill halted the run with a three-pointer at the 5:47 mark, however they were unable to close the gap as Roger Williams pulled away late and held on for the win.
Roger Williams shot 45.5 percent from the field, while Western New England connected at a 33.8 percent clip. The Hawks outrebounded the Golden Bears 46-28.
Following her ten-point effort, O'Neill is 86 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (2-2, 0-1 CCC) hosts Salve Regina and Roger Williams (5-1, 1-0 CCC) travels to the University of New England.
- Release courtesy of the Western New England University Sports Information Department
