BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Alexandria Lanieri (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) connected on 8-of-10 shots from the field, en route to a 20-point performance as the Roger Williams women's basketball team defeated Wentworth, 65-53, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
The Hawks got off to a fast start, taking a 10-2 lead within the game's first 4:38, capped off by a 3-pointer from freshman Angelica Ariola (Prospect, Conn.). Wentworth scored the next six points on baskets by junior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.), senior Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.), and junior Ashley Stowe (Voluntown, Conn.) to cut the lead to 10-8 with 13:28 left.
Roger Williams countered by outscoring the Leopards by a 23-1 margin over the next 11:18 and extended its lead to 33-11 and took a 37-13 lead into the locker room. Over the first 20 minutes the Hawks shot 50 percent from the floor while holding Wentworth to 27.3 percent.
The Hawks extended their lead to as many as 25 with 16:23 left in the contest before the Leopards chipped away at the lead, outscoring Roger Williams, 23-11, and trailed by 13 when Kerr converted a layup. An 8-1 Hawk run extended the lead to 63-43 with 4:19 left before the Leopards would end the game on a 9-2 run to account for the 13-point margin.
In addition to her 20 points, Lanieri had four rebounds and three blocks, juniors Ari Renwick (Westwood, Mass.) and Kaitlyn Bovee (Berlin, Conn.) added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Renwick had six rebounds while Ariola finished with nine points, seven assists, and three steals. The Hawks shot 51.1 percent from the floor for the game.
Kerr led the Leopards with 19 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Senior Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.) added eight points and four rebounds, while Conway finished with seven points.
With the win Roger Williams improves to 16-7 overall and 12-4 in CCC play. The Hawks look to extend their win streak to three when they host Western New England on Tuesday. Wentworth (10-13, 5-11) looks to snap a two-game losing skid with a home game against Gordon, also on Tuesday.
