SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – No. 6 Roger Williams University scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, but No. 3 Western New England was able to survive the push, scoring 25 of their own, while using a strong second quarter to take the first game of the Conference of New England (CNE) Women's Basketball Tournament First Round, 72-64.

The Golden Bears saw four players score in double figures. Paige Winter led the team, shooting 6-for-12 with 5-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc, tallying 17 points with eight assists and four steals in the game. Hannah Blake added 14 points and eight boards, shooting an efficient 7-for-15 from the game, while Perry Blassettie also chipped in 14 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the floor. Sophie Hedge rounded out the scoring with 13 points over 32 minutes. The WNE starters played a majority of the game, with Winter and Reen playing 40 and 38 minutes, respectively.

For Roger Williams, Sophia Coppola (Madison, Conn.) paced the Hawks, scoring 23 points with an 8-for-13 shooting performance on the night, while blocking four shots on the defensive end. Maia Riccio (Cranston, R.I.) shot 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and knocked down 5 free throws for 15 points. Chloe Richardson (Norwell, Mass.) had eight points on the night, while Lilli Clark (Willimantic, Conn.) and Chelsea Graiver (North Yarmouth, Maine) each had seven rebounds, with Graiver and Riccio matching each other with three assists on the night.

The Golden Bears jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after Blake and Blasetti each put a layup in in the opening 1:30. After Clark put in a layup to cut the lead in half for the Hawks, the Golden Bears jumped out to an eight-point lead after back-to-back three-pointers from Winter and Blasetti. After a timeout by the Hawks immediately after, the Hawks were able to go on a 13-5 run, that saw them level the score at 15-15 after Riccio knocked down a three with 1:55 remaining in the opening quarter. The Hawks would take a 21-17 lead into the second quarter.

In the second, the Golden Bears took control, opening with a 7-2 run over the opening 2:59, taking back the lead on their way to outscoring the Golden Bears, 23-9 over the frame, taking a 40-30 advantage into the break. Coming out of the halftime break, the Hawks opened with an 8-3 run to take a 43-38 lead. Western New England tallied four points in the final 5:01 of the quarter but was able to hold onto a six-point lead, heading into the final stanza, 47-41.

The Hawks shrunk the lead to five, after Richardson finished on a layup attempt at the rim, but a jumper by Blake and a three-pointer by Hedge, expanded the lead back to 10. With 4:19 remaining. The Hawks were able to pull within eight but the Golden Bears were able to maintain the advantage throughout the closing minutes to secure a trip to the Semifinals.

No. 3 Western New England (19-7, 12-4 CNE) will travel to face No. 2 Endicott on Friday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 pm in MacDonald Gymnasium.

Roger Williams (13-13, 9-7 CNE) sees their season come to a close.