ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Roger Williams University women's basketball team took home their second consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships, qualifying the Hawks for the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament that begins on Friday, Mar. 3 at 4:30 with a tilt against Mary Washington.
 
Roger Williams (25-3, 18-0 CCC) are the first team to complete an undefeated conference slate in the CCC since 2015-16 when the feat was accomplished by the University of New England.  The Hawks boast four members of the roster who landed on All-CCC Teams this season with Katie Galligan (Pembroke, Mass.) and Caroline Elie (Rockland, Mass.) both landing on the First Team, while Sophie Araneo (Branford, Conn.) and Nikki Rosa (Nahant, Mass.) were members of the Third Team.
 
Along with the All-Conference teams, the Hawks also bring the CCC Coach of the Year in Kelly Thompson and CCC Defensive Player of the Year with Elie.
 
The Hawks hold opponents to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and 24.2 from beyond the three-point line. The Hawks also have one of the top scoring defenses in the country, holding opponents to 48.8 points per game.
 
The Hawks' look to Galligan and Elie for a bulk of their scoring with both players averaging over 13 points per game. Araneo and Rosa rank third and fourth respectively with 9.3 and 8.3 points per game, with Kendi Barnard (Bedford, N.H.) and Sophia Coppola (Madison, Conn.) each scoring 7.1 per contest.
 
On the glass, the Hawks leader is Elie with 6.9 rebounds per game, while Barnard is second on the team with 6.4 per contest. Araneo and Coppola each pull down five shots off the boards per game, while Rosa pulls down 4.3.
 
Defensively the Hawks' steals leader is Elie with 58 on the season and is followed by Rosa who has 50 takeaways this season. Galligan follows closely with 48 steals and Barnard sits fourth with 32. Barnard is also the team leader in blocks with 47, and Galligan ranks second and Elie third with 24 and 22 respectively.
 
Galligan also leads the team with 92 assists, while four players sit at over 60 steals on the season for the Hawks with eight players including Peri MacDonald (Melrose, Mass.) and Lizzy Stevenson (Bedford, N.H.) sitting over 20.
 
The Eagles finished the season 22-6 posting a 2-3 record in Coast-to-Coast (C2C) Conference action on the season ranking second in the conference with Christopher Newport going unbeaten. 
 
Mary Washington ranks 11^th in the country in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 22.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Eagles edge out the Hawks in field goal percentage holding opponents to 33.2 percent from the floor. 
 
The Eagles do allow 50.8 points per game averaging 17.6 average margin per contest, out scoring opponents on average 68.4-50.8.
 
Jordan Carpenter accounts for 15.0 points per game for Mary Washington, with Keagan Schwab sitting second on the team with 10.6 points per game. Elizabeth Dufrane, Sydney Sherman, and Ashley Martin round out the top five with 8.3, 7.3 and 7.3 points per game respectively.
 
Carpenter leads the team in rebounds per game with 8.3, with Schwab, Sherman, and Martin, and Megan Baxter, each averaging over three rebounds per game. Baxter and Dufrane lead the team with 2.7 and 2.1 assists per game, while Riner also adds 2.0 a contest.
 
On the defensive end, the Eagles have stolen the ball 309 times this season with 69 of those steals accounted for by Carpenter. Martin then has 42 on the season ranking second on the team in steals, as well as blocks with 14 points. Karissa Highlander leads the team in blocks with 21 on the season.
 
Roger Williams and Mary Washington will clash in the NCAA Tournament First Round at 4:30 pm on Friday, Mar. 3 with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Saturday, Mar. 4.