SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team logged its first win of 2022 with a 76-54 win over Western New England University Thursday evening.
 
Hawk Highlights
Katie Galligan: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Karli Opalka: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist
Sam Mancinelli: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Kendi Barnard: 7 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 blocks
 
For The Opponents
Shaina Cooney: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Abby Garaben: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Emma Kahn: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
 
How It Happened
Karli Opalka (Southbury, Conn.) kicked off the game for the Hawks with a layup on Roger Williams' first possession of the game. Her basket began a 9-0 run for RWU over the first seven minutes of play. On the defensive end, the Hawks held Western New England to 0-for-9 shooting over that stretch to help build the lead. A Lexi Leon three-pointer broke the scoreless streak for the Golden Bears, and they were able to pull within five later in the quarter. However, RWU would not allow them to come closer, taking a 19-11 lead into the second.
 
In the second, a layup by Shaina Cooney made it a 20-23 game, the closest that the Golden Bears pulled up to this point. However, RWU answered with back-to-back threes by Sam Mancinelli (Peabody, Mass.) and Caroline Elie (Rockland, Mass.) to go back up by nine. RWU would build that lead to 13 before going into halftime up 38-29.
 
Western New England kept things close in the third quarter, with Abby Garaban knocking down a pair of free throws to make it 39-44 with 6:30 to play. Roger Williams would turn things around with four minutes left in the quarter. The Hawks ended the period on a 10-0 run to increase their lead from six to 16, leading 57-41 entering the fourth. From there, the Hawks never let their advantage drop below 14 en route to the 22-point win.
 
What's Next
Roger Williams (9-0 4-0 CCC): Saturday, January 8 at Nichols @ 1:00pm
Western New England (3-8, 1-3 CCC): Saturday, January 8 vs. Univ. of New England @ 1:00pm