BRISTOL, R.I. – The Hawks of No. 3 Roger Williams University came out victorious in their Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament First Round matchup against the No. 6 Nichols College Bison on Tuesday evening in the Campus Rec Center, 85-53.
 
The Hawks were led in scoring by Katie Galligan (Pembroke, Mass.) who was responsible for 20 points, with eight rebounds, and had two blocks on the game. Sophia Coppola (Madison, Conn.) added 18 points, with 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Elizabeth Dufrane (Falls Church, Va.) had 11 points with six rebounds, while Caroline Aaron (Wrentham, Mass.) also registered a double-double with 10 point and 10 boards.
 
Abrianna Vazquez led the way for the Bison scoring 20 points with three rebounds and an assist, with three steals on the defensive end. Kiera Fernandes had 18 points with five rebounds, shooting 7-for-20 from the floor. Leandra Ortiz and Summer Klein each had three steals.
 
Nichols led with 14 points coming off turnovers to the Hawks seven, but Roger Williams held the edge in second chance points, 29-7, and in points off the bench, 33-4. The Hawks also outscored the Bison in the paint, 50-24. The Hawks out rebounded the Bison, 81-39.
 
After the Bison opened up the game after a steal by Alyvia Smith, the Hawks took control, with Galligan kicking off a 12-0 run, taking a 12-2 lead with 5:27 remaining in the first quarter. With the Hawks leading 12-6, Roger Williams again went on a small run, outscoring the Bison, 9-0, over the final 4:24 of the quarter, taking a 21-6 advantage into the second frame.
 
With the Hawks leading by 15 with 5:48 remaining in the opening half, the Bison began to chip away at the lead, cutting the lead down to six with a 9-2 run, with 2:28 remaining in the opening half, the Hawks would rebound, expanding the lead back out to 11 at the break.
 
In the third, Roger Williams was able to expand their lead to as many as 19 outscoring the Bison, 22-15, before scoring 30 in the fourth while holding their opponents to 16 for the win.
 
No. 3 Roger Williams (18-8, 12-4 CCC) will travel to take on No. 2 University of New England on Thursday, Feb. 22 in the CCC Tournament Semifinals at 7:00 pm.