Box Score BIDDEFORD, Maine – The second-seeded Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team could not earn its first Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, as the Hawks were downed 59-40 by the top-seeded University of New England Saturday afternoon.
 
This was the Hawks' second berth to the CCC Championship, when RWU also faced UNE for the 2013-14 title. Though RWU fell to the Nor'Easters 50-61, RWU was still able to earn its first-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
UNE got on the board first, forcing a turnover after the hawks won the opening tip. Ashley Coneys (Dover, N.H.) found Jocelyn Chaput (Nashua, N.H.) for a three from the left side of the arc. UNE forced another turnover on the second RWU possession and got a layup from Olivia Shaw (Saco, Maine).
 
After a 7-0 UNE run to begin the game, Roger Williams called a timeout to regain their composure and would come up with a Teagan Dunn (Burlington, Conn.) layup and a Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass. three-pointer to pull within four (5-9). However, the Nor'Easters would come right back with six straight points as part of a 12-2 run to give UNE a 21-7 lead with 2:11 left in the first quarter. UNE would eventually hold a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Gabby Jerahian (Quincy, Mass.) scored the first two points of the second quarter on a pair of free throws in the opening minute. Roger Williams managed to hold UNE scoreless over the first 2:39 of play, but unfortunately was not able to get any other points over that stretch other than Jerahian's freebies. Anna Walther (Northampton, Mass.) knocked down a three at the 6:23 mark but the Hawk offense still struggled to find its rhythm early on.
 
Nicholas would help RWU gain momentum late. She knocked down back-to-back jumpers, forced a contested layup, and was sent to the line after grabbing a rebound. She scored five straight points to cut the deficit to single digits (19-28) with 3:15 left in the opening half.  However, Shaw would later put the Nor'Easters back up by 11 with a three-pointer with 1:58 left.
 
In the closing seconds, UNE went 1-for-2 at the free throw line with Sam Leone (Ashland, Mass.) grabbing the rebound and heaving a deep three at the buzzer that banked off the backboard and just bounced off the front of the rim, giving the Nor'Easters a 34-21 halftime lead.
 
The Hawks suffered from shooting woes throughout the first half, only shooting 8-of-24 from the field. Nicholas accounted for nearly half of RWU's points, scoring ten in the half along with five rebounds. Chaput had the hot hand for UNE, putting up 12 in the period.
 
Coneys and Shaw kicked off the second half with a layup and a three-pointer. Sam McDonald (Lebanon, N.H.) followed with a fast-break jumper in the paint for seven quick points, taking a 41-21 lead and forcing RWU to call timeout at the 8:24 mark. RWU was held to only four points over the following four minutes as the Nor'Easters added 11 more points to their lead.
 
Walther was finally able to end the RWU scoring draught with a floater with 1:27 left, the Hawks' first points in three minutes. Jerahian added a trey as well before the end of the quarter, but the Nor'Easters still led 54-30 entering the fourth.
 
The Hawk defense managed to get the stops they were looking for in the fourth quarter, holding the Nor'Easters to only two points over the first nine minutes of the period and only five total. However the offense was never to get back in gear, as the team only shot 3-of-14 from the field in the final quarter. The 14-pint deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Nor'Easters claimed their sixth consecutive conference championship.
 
Nicholas led the way for Roger Williams with 19 points and seven rebounds. Dunn finished with four points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks, while Jerahian had nine points and five boards.
 
MacDonald led the Nor'Easters with 17 points, with Shaw one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards. Coneys had ten points and nine rebounds as well.
 
Roger Williams (23-5) will await to see if their resume is stellar enough to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. UNE (23-5) will find out their NCAA Tournament First Round opponent on Monday.