BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University women's basketball team extended their win streak to three games with a 70-63 victory against Gordon College at the Bennett Center.
The win was a true team effort by Roger Williams, with multiple players in double figures.
Elizabeth Dufrane (Falls Church, Va.) led the Hawks in scoring with 15 points.
Lilli Clark (Willimantic, Conn.) scored a double-double, for the second-straight game, totaling 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Sophia Coppola (Madison, Conn.) had 12 points and seven rebounds and
Katie Galligan (Pembroke, Mass.) had 11 points to round out the Hawks' leading scorers.
Both teams started the contest slow, with the first basket for Roger Williams coming almost three minutes into the game. The Hawks built momentum off the basket, taking an 8-4 lead just a few minutes later. Roger Williams extended the lead to six with just a minute remaining in the first quarter, but a three pointer by Gordon cut the lead to three after the opening frame.
In the second quarter, the Hawks again struggled to score early. Roger Williams scored two points in the first five minutes of the second quarter, but stout defense allowed them to maintain a two-point lead. The offense finally came to life in the second part of the quarter, and the Hawks built up a seven-point lead with 1:30 left in the half. However, a 6-0 run for Gordon left Roger Williams hanging on to a one-point lead going into the half.
Coming out of the break, the Fighting Scots scored two buckets in the opening minutes. Roger Williams quickly tightened up their defense, and their offense came alive. The Hawks scored the next 18 points of the quarter over a stretch of five minutes to take a 15-point lead, the largest of the game for either team. Gordon was able to cut a few points off the lead by the end of the quarter, but the Hawks flew into the final quarter with a 12-point lead.
Despite the large deficit, Gordon was not done yet. After five quick points cut the Hawks' lead down to 7, the teams went back and forth trading scores. With 4:45 left in the game, the lead was down to four points. Neither team scored for the next couple minutes, and free throws in the final minutes allowed the Hawk to pull out the win.
Roger Williams (14-7, 9-3 CCC) will host Endicott on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 5:30 pm in the Campus Rec Center before finishing the week on Saturday by travelling to Biddeford, Maine to take on the University of New England at 1:00 pm.
