BRISTOL, R.I. – Junior Bridget Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) scored 11 of her game-high 20 points in the first half to help pace the Roger Williams University women's basketball team to its third straight win, a 58-45 triumph over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Saturday afternoon.
With the win the Hawks improve to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in league play while the Leopards fall to 4-8 (1-5) after suffering their fourth straight setback.
After falling behind to open the game Wentworth scored seven straight points, including five from senior Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) to take a 7-2 lead with 7:14 left in the first quarter. Roger Williams held the Leopards off the scoreboard for nearly seven minutes and held the Black & Gold to just two free throws to take a 13-9 lead after the first quarter.
Senior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) ended the Leopards' field goal drought 27 seconds into the second quarter to bring Wentworth within a pair, however Quilty scored the next four points and junior Katie Lowerre (Sharon, Mass.) made a free throw to make it a seven-point game. Sophomore Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) ended a Leopard scoring drought of nearly four minutes making it 18-13 before the Hawks ran their lead to eight with 1:43 left. Camara would hit four free throws to slice the deficit in half and Roger Williams junior Emma Kils (East Northport, N.Y.) drained a three with 23 ticks left to give the hosts a 27-20 lead at the break.
Wentworth was held to just one field goal in the third quarter (1-for-12) but would go 9-for-10 from the free throw line during this stretch. Roger Williams would extend its lead to as many as 11 late in the quarter and led, 40-31, after three quarters of play.
Quilty scored the Hawks' first five points of the four quarter to stretch the lead to 45-31 and would lead by as many as 19 before Wentworth scored eight of the game's final 10 points to account for the 13-point margin.
Sophomore Teagan Dunn (Burlington, Conn.) was the only other Hawk to score in double figures as she recorded a double-double with 12 and 13 rebounds.
Senior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) and Camara each had a double-doubles for the Black & Gold, as Rogers scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Camara had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sabino scored 14 points, and McLaughlin added seven.
Roger Williams hosts UMass Dartmouth on Monday while Wentworth hosts Endicott on Thursday.
