Harden's double-double gives Seahawks another road victory

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University women's basketball tipped off the home portion of the 2014-15 campaign with a 54-44 setback against intra-state rival Salve Regina in a non-conference contest at the Wildcat Center on Thursday evening.

Junior Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) paced Salve Regina with a game-high 23 points and 16 rebounds while sophomore Jillian Woodward (Orono, Maine) had 14 points and seven boards in the victory.  Freshman Mary Eden (South Kingston, R.I.) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points in the win for the Seahawks.

Freshman Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.) led the way for Johnson & Wales with eight points, 13 rebounds and three assists while fellow rookie Sarah Duryea (Middle Village, N.Y.) added eight points and three rebounds for the Wildcats.  Senior Natalie DiCocco (Media, Pa.) had seven points and seven boards in the setback.

Johnson & Wales raced out to a 9-0 lead after a layup by sophomore Jordan Neylon (Penacook, N.H.) with 13:56 left in the first half.  A pair of free throws by freshman Kristen Habbel (Phoenixville, Pa.) put the Wildcats up 20-11 with 6:59 remaining in the opening stanza. The visiting Seahawks then used a 15-0 run, capped by two from the free throw line by Harden to take the 26-20 lead with one minute left in the half.  Salve took the 29-23 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.  Both teams struggled from the field in the first half with Salve Regina shooting just 40% (8-for-20) with JWU connecting on 22.2% (6-for-27) from the field.

JWU open the second half strong and regained the lead when a three pointer by Duryea with 17:30 left in the clock put the Wildcats up 30-29.  Salve Regina then used an 18-4 run over the next eight minutes, taking their largest lead of the game, 47-34 on a free throw by Harden.  The Wildcats cut the lead to seven points on a pair of free throws by DiCocco with just under a minute remaining in the contest, but it wouldn't be enough as the Seahawks held on for the 54-44 victory.

With the loss Johnson & Wales falls to 2-1 for the season while Salve Regina improves to 2-1 for the year.  The Wildcats return to action on Saturday when the travel to Curry for a non-conference contest starting at 1 p.m.; the Seahawks host their home opener when Middlebury College visits for a 2 p.m. tipoff.