Hawks claw back against Seahawks

BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University women's basketball team hosted Salve Regina University Tuesday evening in a Commonwealth Coast Conference game, with the Hawks defeating SRU 71-63 for the Hawks' ninth straight win.

Salve Regina got off to a fast start with a 9-0 run in the opening 4:57 of the first quarter. Kerri Beland (Attleboro, Mass.) started it off with a pair of free throws for the Seahawks and Ally Esielionis (Shirley, Mass.) also contributed with a three-pointer with an assist from Beland. RWU finally got on the board with a layup from Rebecca Ritchie (Hanover Mass.) at 5:03. From the 3:02 mark, SRU went on a 7-0 run to finish off an impressive quarter with a score of 22-8.

The Hawks went into the second quarter determined to cut the Seahawks' lead. It started off with a layup from Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) who then continued to dominate the rest of the quarter scoring a total of 11 points. The teams traded baskets until Anna Walther (Northampton, Mass.) scored a jumper with 2:52 left on the clock starting RWU's 7-0 run. RWU was eventually able to cut the deficit to seven with a score of 30-37.

The third quarter started off with a three-pointer by Beland for SRU. The Hawks played well on both ends of the floor, limiting the Seahawks offense, which would carry out for the remainder of the game. Teagan Dunn (Burlington, Conn.) then made a pair of free throws for RWU to make the score 43-47, the smallest lead for the Seahawks since 4-0 in the first quarter. The quarter ended with a score of 51-45 in favor of Salve Regina.

The final quarter began with a jumper from Walther for the Hawks. After a few traded baskets, the Seahawks led by three (55-52). RWU then went on a 7-0 run to gain their first lead of the game with 6:34 left in the quarter. Nicholas made a pair of free throws to put the Hawks ahead 56-55 as part of the run.

At 61-59, the Seahawks cut RWU's lead to two on a layup from Tara Burke (Londonderry, N.H.). Yet the Hawks came right back with a 7-0 run making the score 68-59, their largest lead of the game. It was another victory for RWU with a final score of 71-63.

Nicholas led the way for the Hawks with 20 points and seven rebounds. Walther also contributed with 18 points and five rebounds. Dunn had a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds.

Leading Salve Regina University was Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.) with 14 points and Mary Eden (South Kingston, R.I.) with 12 points. Burke also contributed with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Roger Williams (17-3, 11-2 CCC) will travel to Wentworth on Saturday. Salve Regina (10-9, 7-6 CCC) will travel to Curry College on Saturday.