Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Basketball had its hopes for a return to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Game dashed Thursday evening, as Western New England edged the Hawks 44-43 in the CCC Semifinals.
 
The Hawks rallied from a subpar shooting performance in the first half to make a push in the final two quarters. However, a back-and-forth affair ended in favor of the visitors.
 
RWU opened the contest with back-to-back layups from Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) before Western New England came back with 7-2 run to take the lead. RWU would be held to only two points over the final seven minutes of play in the opening quarter as the Golden Bears held a 14-7 lead after the first period of play.
 
The second quarter saw Western New England begin to struggle offensively, being held to only six points on 3-of-12 shooting in the frame. Despite being outscored 12-6 in the period by the Hawks, the Golden Bears never allowed Roger Williams to regain the lead in the second and took a 20-19 lead into the second half.
 
In the third quarter, Roger Williams came out firing, beginning with a layup by Bridget Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) to put RWU back up by one. Her basket would kick start a 9-0 run for the Hawks to begin the half, giving RWU an eight-point lead four minutes into the quarter. Western New England cut the deficit to two on a three-pointer by Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) with 1:58 to play, but the Hawks scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 36-30 lead into the final quarter.
 
Roger Williams held the lead for the first four-plus minutes of play until Dorothy O'Neil (Staten Island, N.Y.) tied the game at 37 with a three-pointer with 5:21 left. Paige Young (Berlin, Conn.) followed with a short jumper to give the Golden Bears their first lead of the second half. The Hawks would tie the game twice over the next three minutes of play before a pair of Nicholas free throws put RWU back on top by one with 1:48 left.
 
Western New England came back to tie the game at 43 and was able to secure possession with under a minute left thanks to a key block by Sammie Olson. With under eight seconds left, a Hawk foul sent Olson to the line for two. She missed the first but sank the second, forcing RWU to call a timeout and advance the ball past half court. Nicholas attempted a turn-around jumper from the baseline for the potential game-winner but sent it off the rim, allowing WNE to escape with the win.
 
Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) led WNE with 13 points along with seven rebounds. Young added six points, nine boards, and five assists.

Nicholas led all scorers with 22 points in addition to five boards. Quilty scored ten with five rebounds, while Rebecca Ritchie (Hanover, Mass.) finished with four points, six assists, and six steals.
 
Western New England (19-8) will head up to Maine Saturday to face defending top-seeded University of New England in the CCC Championship. Roger Williams wraps up the year at 19-8.