BRISTOL, R.I. – With a 65-51 win over Western New England University, the Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team officially claimed its first outright Commonwealth Coast Conference regular season title in program history, finishing the year with a 17-1 conference record.
 
Hawk Highlights
Karli Opalka: 13 points, 8 rebounds,4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Katie Galligan: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Kendi Barnard: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
Sam Mancinelli: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal
 
For The Opponents
Grace Fisher: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Shaina Cooney: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Abby Garaban: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Julia Quinn: 2 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound
 
How It Happened
Western New England held a brief one-possession lead, with layups from Abby Garaban (Maplewood, N.J.) and Shaina Cooney (Montgomery, N.Y.). Roger Williams answered with ten straight points to take a six-point lead. Sophie Araneo (Branford, Conn.) later drained a three to put RWU up by nine (15-6) with 4:17 left in the quarter to give the Hawks their largest lead up to that point. A basket by Caroline Elie (Rockland, Mass.) on RWU's final possession allowed the Hawks to enter the second half with a 22-12 lead.
 
After a scoreless opening minute, Elie ran the break and sank a layup to put RWU up by 12. Despite only shooting 35.3 percent from the field in the quarter, the Hawks led by double digits for most of the frame. Hannah Driscoll (Hampton, N.H.) hit a jumper on Roger Williams' last possession to send the Hawks into halftime up 35-23.
 
Katie Galligan (Pembroke, Mass.) gave the Hawks a 15-point lead with a shot off of a fast break, putting the Hawks up 39-24 with 7:58 to play in the quarter. A 10-3 run for the Golden Bears cut the deficit to eight, but the Hawks maintained the lead. A buzzer-beating three by Sam Mancinelli (Peabody, Mass.) to end the quarter put the Hawks up 52-36 entering the fourth.
 
Roger Williams most of spent the fourth quarter in cruise control, going up by as many as 20. Western New England made a late rally to pull within ten with 2:07 left to play. However, RWU held the Golden Bears to only two points over the rest of the quarter to pick up the win and the top seed for the CCC Tournament.
 
What's Next
Roger Williams (22-2, 17-1 CCC): Tuesday, February 22 vs. Lowest Remaining Seed (CCC Quarterfinals) @ 5:30pm
Western New England (10-15, 8-10 CCC): Monday, February 21 vs. Curry (CCC Opening Round) @ 7:00pm