BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Bridget Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Roger Williams women's basketball team defeat Wentworth Institute of Technology, 68-59, in the regular-season finale for both squads Saturday afternoon.
With the win the Hawks improve to 16-9 overall and 13-5 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play and will be the number three seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament where they will host sixth-seeded Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday night. The Leopards see their season come to an end with a 6-19 record overall and a 2-16 mark in league play. Wentworth finished in a three-way tie with Nichols and Gordon for the eighth and final playoff spot, however on the fourth tiebreaker (record against teams with a .500 or better record) Nichols claims the final playoff spot.
The Leopards took their first lead of the contest with 7:44 left in the opening quarter when senior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) converted a three-point play. However, a 5-0 spurt by Roger Williams gave the visitors the lead back (10-7) with 6:16 left in the quarter. Wentworth quickly regained the lead with a jumper from Rogers and a basket from senior Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) and led by four with 2:44 left in the frame after a Rogers jumper. Sophomore Teagan Dunn (Burlington, Conn.) and junior Katie Lowerre (Sharon, Mass.) scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 16-all after one.
While both teams struggled to score early in the second quarter, Rogers gave Wentworth an 18-16 lead with her basket 2:56 into the quarter. After sophomore Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) knotted the score at 18-all, the Leopards took a one-point lead on a junior Kellie Messer (Hollis, N.H.) free throw and would lead by as many as five with 1:06 remaining after a McLaughlin jumper. Senior Angelica Ariola (Prospect, Conn.) and sophomore Stephanie Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.) scored for the Hawks to even the game at the half.
The third quarter was back and forth with seven ties and six lead changes. Wentworth held a 35-30 edge after a McLaughlin three before Roger Williams used six straight points – four from sophomore Rebecca Ritchie (Hanover, Mass.) – to take a 36-35 lead with 5:30 left. McLaughlin answered with a basket of her own to make it 37-36 and the teams traded points until Rogers tied the game with a layup with 1:31 left and senior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) hit two from the charity stripe with 45 seconds left to give the hosts a 46-44 lead.
Roger Williams opened the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run and took a 58-46 lead on a Quilty basket with 5:24 remaining in the contest. The Leopards cut the deficit to nine on a McLaughlin three in the next possession, however the Hawks countered with a three from senior Rachel Battista (Johnston, R.I.) to make it a 12-point game and held a double-digit lead for most of the reminder of the contest.
In addition to her 16 points, Quilty had nine rebounds and three blocks. Nicholas had 12 points and eight rebounds and Ariola added a dozen points. Roger Williams held a 52-33 rebounding advantage.
Rogers led all scorers with 25 points while Camara had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals. McLaughlin end the game with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Rogers, Camara, McLaughlin, and Helena Kiritsy (Boylston, Mass.) all played in their final game in a Wentworth uniform.
