BOSTON, Mass – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball fell just short to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) frontrunner Roger Williams University, 62-51, Saturday afternoon inside Tansey Gymnasium.
The Hawks stay on top of the conference at 12-2 and improve to 18-3 overall, while the Leopards dip to 1-13 against league opponents and 2-19 this season.
Prior to the game, the Wentworth and Roger Williams community honored the late James Stowe, a member of the Hawks' club hockey team and brother of Ashley Stowe '14, who tragically passed away form testicular cancer. To learn more about James' fund, and how you can help towards Testicular Cancer research, please visit https://because.massgeneral.org/fundraiser/1156958.
Despite a quick 4-0 spurt from Roger Williams to open the contest, a trey from freshman Erin Morton (Norway, Maine) pulled Wentworth within one, before senior Courtney McCormick (Hanson, Mass.) put the hosts up by two, 6-4. The game featured three ties before Roger Williams closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run, all off the hands of sophomore Sam Leone (Ashland, Mass.) , to give the Hawks a 17-13 lead.
Roger Williams carried its momentum into the second stanza, as seniors Teagan Dunn (Burlington, Conn.), Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.), and Anna Walther (Northampton, Mass.) put the visitors up by nine, 22-13, with 5:57 left in the half. The Leopards squashed the Hawks' chance at a double-digit lead, as two freebies from Morton and a layup from junior Michelle McCloskey (Madison, Conn.) trailed the Hawks by five. A three-pointer from Hawks' sophomore Gabby Jerahian (Quincy, Mass.) put the Hawks up by nine, before freshman Stephanie Mini (Topsfield, Mass.) answered with a deep trey of her own to cut the score 28-22 with 3:46 on the clock. Nicholas gave Roger Williams its first double-digit lead with 38 seconds to go, before Leone sank a three to beat the buzzer with the Hawks leading 35-24 at halftime.
The Leopards were down but not out, as a 10-0 run pulled the hosts within a single point. Morton sank two jumpers before Mini stayed hot behind the arc with consecutive treys, with the Hawks holding a 35-34 advantage. With 5:19 left in the third, Morton found McCormick, who drained another three for the Leopards, tying the score 37-37. Sophomore Sam McGibbon (Pembroke, Mass.) returned the favor, putting the Leopards up by two with a three-pointer, but the Hawks turned a 9-2 run for a 49-44 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
McCloskley opened the final quarter with an offensive board and a layup, cutting the score by three, but the Hawks outscored the Leopards 13-7 to hold on for the 62-51 final. With 2:19 left in the game, Nicholas scored her 1000th point in a Hawks uniform, and finished with 16 points overall.
Nicholas also added a game-high 16 boards in the victory, while Leone also finished with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Dunn pulled down 16 boards of her own, as Roger Williams collectively held a 64-31 advantage on the glass.
Mini led the Leopards with 13 points, nine coming from behind the arc, while senior Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) rounded out double-digit scoring with 11 points. McCloskey led the home team on the glass with nine rebounds.
Wentworth returns to action on Wednesday, February 7 at 5:30 when it hosts the University of New England.
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