BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's basketball teams will return to the court for their first full season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic this season and when they do, Roger Williams will be the favorite to capture the CCC Tournament title.
 
The Hawks ranked first in the CCC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was conducted by the league's 10 women's basketball head coaches last week. They earned 95 points and eight of a possible 10 first place votes.
 
During the Hawks' last full season, they went 12-4 during conference play (17-10 overall) and earned the No. 2 seed in the CCC Championship Tournament. Unfortunately for RWU, its season came to close early with a loss in the CCC Semifinals.
 
Coming in second in this year's poll is the University of New England, which earned 79 points in this year's voting. The Nor'easters are coming off a CCC Tournament runner-up performance in 2019-20 after finishing as the No. 4 seed during the regular season.
 
Endicott, the team that knocked off the UNE and became the CCC Tournament Champion, will be looking to defend its first-ever CCC Tournament title this year from the No. 3 position. The Gulls earned 77 points in the poll. During the last full season for the Gulls, they made it to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
 
A new addition to the league, Suffolk, falls in the No. 4 spot in this year's poll with 76 points and a first place vote. The Rams had a lot of success in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), qualifying for the postseason every season in their 25-year stay and will be looking to continue that streak in the CCC.
 
The next three spots in this year's poll belonged to Gordon (49 points), Salve Regina (36), and Nichols (33) in that order. Meanwhile, Curry (22) and Wentworth (10) rounded out this year's voting.
 
The Roger Williams women's basketball team returns to the court for official intercollegiate competition for the first time since the 2019-20 season. That year, the Hawks compiled a 17-10 overall record while going 12-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference and clinching the No. 2 seed for the CCC Tournament.
 
The Hawks advanced to the CCC Semifinals, but unfortunately were defeated by third-seeded Endicott. This season, the Hawks will look to regain the dominant form they had in the 2017-18 season where they set a school record with 23 wins. The team returns a majority of their players from 2019-20 in addition to adding two newcomers to the team.
 
The Hawks will be bringing back 12 of the 15 members of the 2019-20 squad including senior forward Karli Opalka (Southbury, Conn.). In her last season of action, Opalka was selected to the 2019-20 All-CCC First Team, averaging 15.3 points per game and leading the conference in field goal percentage at .507. In addition, she has a chance to become the 11th player in school history to score 1000 points.
 
The CCC women's basketball season tips off on Friday, Nov. 5 with Curry hosting Framingham State with other teams beginning non-conference action that weekend. CCC play starts on Saturday, Nov. 20 with a matchup between Endicott and UNE. The first full weekend of conference action is on Wednesday, Dec. 1.  The top eight teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the 2022 CCC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The tournament will begin with four quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday, Feb. 22 with the winners advancing to the semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 24. The two semifinal winners will face off for the 2022 CCC Women's Basketball Tournament Champion title on Saturday, Feb. 26. The tournament winner will also earn the conference's automatic qualifier into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
 
2021-22 CCC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

	Team	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Roger Williams	95 (8)
2.	University of New England	79
3.	Endicott	77
4.	Suffolk	76
5.	Western New England	71
6.	Gordon	49
7.	Salve Regina	36
8.	Nichols	33
9.	Curry	22
10.	Wentworth	12

 
- Release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference