Seahawks claw back against Leopards, 65-54

NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University women's basketball trailed by as many as 14 in the first half before closing the gap to two at the break and finishing with a 65-54 victory over visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both teams at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

The Leopards (2-4; 0-1 CCC) jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first three-plus minutes. Junior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) drove into the lane for a layup and the game's first points. Freshman Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.) followed with a free throw and then a pair of 3-pointers before Rogers added her own two free throws.

Salve Regina (4-3; 1-0 CCC) got on the board at 16:14 when freshman Allyson Esielionis (Shirley, Mass.) sank a layup on her third shot of the game. Rogers followed with a short jumper in the paint and Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) rattled home a 3-pointer for a 16-2 Wentworth advantage at 14:45.

Over the next five and a half minutes, Salve Regina outscored the visitors by one (11-10) on the strength of five reserves. Seahawk head coach Cori Hughes replaced her starters with Mary Eden (So. Kingstown, R.I.), Laura Miller (Thomaston, Conn.), Fiona Nuñez (Hampton Bays, N.Y.), Cortney Rosenlund (Whitinsville, Mass.), and Jillian Woodward (Orono, Maine) after McLaughlin's trey.

The new group accounted for 18 points in the first half. Eden scored on consecutive layups; after another McLaughlin 3-pointer, Woodward had her first layup and then another following a Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) jumper.

Trailing 26-13 with 7:42 left in the first half, Esielionis started a 15-4 run for the Seahawks that would trim the deficit to two at halftime (30-28). Rosenlund scored on a fastbreak layup during the run which peaked with a 3-pointer from Eden. The freshman had a career-high nine points in nine minutes played in the first half.

Junior Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.), with only two points at the break, started the second-half scoring with a fastbreak layup. Salve Regina had its first lead of the game (36-35 at 14:53 in the second half) when Woodward sank her fourth layup. Rogers and Sabino had back-to-back buckets to retake the lead for the Leopards, but Esielionis and Harden combined for a 10-0 Seahawk run (both with five points) that kept Salve Regina ahead for the rest of the game.

The Seahawks shot just 35.5 percent in the first half before improving to 53.8 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Harden finished with a game-high 22 points and five rebounds; Esielionis posted career highs in points (16) and rebounds (11) for her first collegiate double-double. Woodward finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

"Pleased with the performance coming off the bench," said Hughes, "and our ability to come back after a rough start."

The Leopards were led by Rogers' double-double (16 points, 10 boards - all on the defensive glass). McLaughlin and Deoleo both chipped in 11 points while Sabino finished with 10 points.

Salve Regina travels to Dudley, Mass., for its next conference tilt with the Bison of Nichols College on Saturday (1 p.m.); Wentworth hosts Gordon College at 1 p.m. in CCC action Saturday.