BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Katie Lowerre (Sharon, Mass.) had 16 points and five steals to help the Roger Williams University women's basketball team defeat Wentworth Institute of Technology, 52-42, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
Winners of eight in a row the Hawks improve to 17-6 overall and 14-2 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 5-18 (3-13).
In the early going the two teams battled through a pair of ties and three lead changes with junior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) giving the hosts a 10-9 lead after a made jumped with 14:41 remaining. Wentworth outscored Roger Williams 6-1 over a six-minute span and took a 16-10 lead on a freshman Courtney McCormick jumper with 8:41 to play.
Roger Williams would close out the half by outscoring the Leopards 22-6 and increased its lead to 10 (32-22) when Lowerre had a steal and layup with four seconds left in the half.
The Hawks lead by as many as 13 with 13:40 left when junior Angelica Ariola (Prospect, Conn.) drained a three pointer. Wentworth chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to six on a freshman Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.) jumper with 4:44 to play. Ariola hit two free throws with just under four minutes left to push the lead to eight, however, on the Leopards' next possession, junior Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) drained a three from the corner to make it a 47-42 game with 2:53 left.
Wentworth had a chance to make it a four-point game with 1:23 left, however a three-point attempt was missed. After the Leopards got the offensive rebound, they turned the ball over and the Hawks would hit three of four free throws and a layup to seal the win.
Lowerre was 6-for-10 from the floor in scoring her game-high 16 points. Ariola added 14 points and three assists, while sophomore Bridget Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) had eight points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.
Three players scored in double figures for the Leopards with Deoleo leading the way with 14 points. Junior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) had 11 points and Rogers recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with three steals.
Both teams continue CCC play on Tuesday as Wentworth hosts Endicott and Roger Williams is at Gordon.
