PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team struggled to find its offensive rhythm on Wednesday night, falling 63–46 on the road at Johnson & Wales in a conference matchup.
Despite battling on the glass and generating second-chance opportunities, the Hawks were unable to overcome 27.9 percent shooting from the field. RWU came out competing on the boards and used its rebounding presence to stay within reach early, finishing with a narrow 49–44 edge on the glass and 19 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points.
However, the Hawks were never able to grab the lead, and Johnson & Wales capitalized on turnovers and transition opportunities, turning RWU's 18 turnovers into 20 points while adding 17 fastbreak points to fuel the scoring separation. The Wildcats held RWU to five made threes and just 17-61 from the field going 7-for-20 shooting at the foul line while JWU converted 16 of their own 21 free-throw attempts. Roger Williams continued to battle defensively, posting 10 blocks, but JWU's interior scoring and free-throw efficiency proved decisive as the Wildcats maintained a steady lead.
Chloe Richardson (Norwell, Mass.) led the Hawks with 11 points, including two threes, and two rebounds.
Sophia Coppola (Madison, Conn.) added 10 points and eight rebounds with three blocks, while
Ava Azzaro (Northampton, Mass.) chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds with one block.
Lilli Clark (Willimantic, Conn.) and
Meg Qualey (Woburn, Mass.) finished with four rebounds each, while Qualey had three blocks on the night.
Johnson & Wales was paced by Brianne Foley who collected 20 points and six rebounds with three blocks and four steals. Foley went 6-for-12 from the field and 8-for-8 at the line. Grace Jaffray added 17 points for the Wildcats with six rebounds and one block. Mia Cruz contributed 12 points with six rebounds and three steals, while Mikayla Caruso posted a 9-point, 11-rebound performance. The Wildcats scored 36 points in the paint and held RWU to 24 interior points on the night.
The Hawks (4-4, 1-1 CNE) will look to reset as they return home on Saturday, Dec. 6 to continue Conference of New England play against University of New England at 1:00pm.
