BRISTOL, R.I. – Western New England's Shaina Cooney knocked down a jumper from just inside the arc with six seconds remaining to down the Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team, 71-69, in Conference of New England (CNE) action on Wednesday evening in the Campus Rec Center Gymnasium.
 
#23 Western New England (19-1, 12-1 CNE) were led offensively by Shaina Cooney and Emma Kahn, who tallied 11 points each. Perry Blasetti also chipped in double digit points with 10. Paige Winter dealt out eight assits, with Lilly Hedge earning seven takeaways on the defensive end. Nora Young pulled down nine rebounds in the contest.
 
The Hawks saw Sophia Coppola tally 19 points while pulling down eight rebounds, with an assist ad a block. Lilli Clark had 14 points, while also Elizabeth Dufrane and Chloe Richardson had 13 and 12 respectively.
 
WNE led for a total of 1:53 in the contest, while RWU had the lead for 32:30. Roger Williams shot 33 percent in the final frame, while WNE knocked down 46.2 percent of their shots in the final frame. WNE also wn the turnover battle with 14 to the Hawks 20.
 
In the opening quarter of action, the Hawks took an early 5-2 lead after a three by Elizabeth Duquette on RWU's second possession went in. Both teams were knotted up at 12 apiece when Duquette again finished on a jumper, to retake the lead. A jumper with 17 seconds remaining in the quarter by Sophia Coppola, giving the Hawks a 16-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Entering the second, the Golden Bears pulled within two of Roger Williams after a jumper by Nora Young, and then leveled the score with a layup with 7:35 remaining in the half. Chloe Richardson then knocked down a three to spark an 13-0 run ending after Coppola hit a three with 3:39 remaining. The two teams would play level throughout the rest of the half, as the Hawks took a 10 point lead into the locker room.
 
With 2:43 remaining in the third quarter, Roger Williams held a 10 point lead, the Golden Bears then scored 10 straight points to end the quarter, heading into the final frame knotted up at 54-54.
 
Roger Williams held a three point lead with 5:07 remaining in the final quarter, after a layup by Clark gave them a 59-56 lead. With 3:40 remaining, Lilly Hedge pulled the Golden Bears within one with a layup. RWU extended their lead back out to three, but Emma Kahn leveled the score at 64 with a three with 2:42 remaining. WNE took the lead late in the contest after a pair of free throws by Kahn, but the Hawks leveled the score with Clark finishing on a lay-in with 1:06 remaining.
 
With both teams tied at 69-69, the Golden Bears had possession and sealed the game as Cooney knocked down a three with six seconds remaining to clinch the contest.
 
Roger Williams (13-6, 10-2 CNE) will travel to face Curry on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 12:00 pm ahead of hosting Hartford on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 pm. The Hawks will then host Gordon on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1:00 pm in the Campus Rec Center.