Box Score BRISTOL, R.I.—The Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team defeated the Nichols College Bison 57-31 Tuesday night in Bristol, R.I. in their third straight Commonwealth Coast Conference game.
The Hawks entered Tuesday's matchup with a 5-2 record and were coming off a 43-52 loss to the University of New England on Sunday. The Bison, who had only played four games prior to Tuesday's game, was looking to get above a .500 winning percentage.
The first play of the game resulted in a Hawks' three-pointer by Gabby Jerahian (Quincy, Mass.) within the first 15 seconds.
Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) came up with two big blocks in the first five minutes to prevent the Bison from closing in on the Hawks' five-point lead.
Following Jerahian's steal and fastbreak layup with just over five minutes left in the first half, the Hawks put the pressure on the Bison with a full-court press.
The Bison broke their scoring drought since the second minute with layup by Beth Laing (Sparta, N.J.) with just over four minutes left. A foul by Jerahian sent Laing to the line, but a violation by the Bison erased the chance of a three-point play.
The Bison cut their deficit to three with just over a minute left in the quarter on a three by Isabella Nerney (Guilford, Conn.). A layup by Allison Cerrato (Rockland, Mass.) with 29 seconds left pulled the Bison within one. Two made free throws by Amy Assad (Millis, Mass.) tied and gave the Bison the 15-14 lead going into second quarter.
Anna Walther (Northampton, Mass.) opened up the second quarter with two made free throws 17 seconds in, which gave the Hawks the lead back briefly.
Nicholas picked up another block with 8:17 left, which was her fourth of the game to that point.
The Hawks extended their lead with just under three minutes left in the half on a three by
Stephanie Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.).
Margarita Delaporta (Canton, Mass.) hit the second of two free throws with a second left. The Hawks carried a 26-17 lead into halftime.
Three players for the Bison had four points at the half. Nerney led her team with four defensive rebounds. Jerehian led all scorers at the half with 10. Nicholas racked up six rebounds in the first half. Both teams struggled to keep possession of the ball. The Hawks had nine turnovers in the half, while Nichols finished with 12.
The second half opened with a wide-open layup by Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.) in the first 14 seconds.
A steal by
Rebecca Ritchie (Hanover, Mass.) in the second minute turned into a breakaway layup by Walther to extend RWU's lead to 10 for the first time of the game.
The Hawks' defense stepped up and forced a shotclock violation with 7:42 to go in the quarter.
Sam Mancinelli's (Peabody, Mass.) three-pointer gave the Hawks an 18-point lead with just under four minutes. A layup by her a minute later pushed their lead to 20.
Going into the final quarter, the score was 44-25 in favor of the home team.
The Hawks kept the pressure on defense in the fourth quarter, but slowed down their offense significantly.
The Bison finally scored their first points of the quarter with just over six minutes left in the game on a layup and made free throw by Assad.
The Hawks' largest lead came with 31.9 second left by way of a layup by Alyssa Grant (Berlin, Conn.). The Hawks' lead was up to 26. That would be the last basket of game. The final score was 57-31, Hawks.
Jerahian led all scorers with 17 points and Nicholas and Mancnielli followed with seven. Nicholas pulled down nine rebounds and had five blocks. Walther led her team with four assists. Jessica Larsh (Bolton, Conn.) led the Bison with 10 points. Three Nichols players had five rebounds.
The Bison fall to 2-3 overall while the Hawks grab their sixth win of the season and rise to 2-1 in conference play. The Hawks will travel to Norton, Mass. Thursday where they will take on nonconference opponent, Wheaton College.
