Roger Williams Pulls Away Late For 68-58 Win over Western New England

Carlson nets career-high 15 points for Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 29, 2017) – The Roger Williams University women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to earn a 68-58 victory over Western New England University in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both teams on Wednesday evening at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
• Sophomore forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) made 7-of-10 field goals and 1-of-2 free throws on her way to a career-high 15 points.
• Junior guard Caroline Niland (Waltham, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points off the bench, while senior guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) added ten points and five assists.
• Junior guard Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) grabbed a career and game-high 11 rebounds to go with four points, one assist, one steal and one block.

• Roger Williams senior forward Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) led four Hawks in double figures with a game-high 16 points and seven boards.
• Sophomore Gabby Jerahian (Quincy, Mass.) contributed 15 points, while seniors Anna Walther (Northampton, Mass.) and Teagan Dunn (Burlington, Conn.) finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Game Review
• Roger Williams raced out to a 6-0 lead less than a minute and a half into the contest, and the Hawks held an 11-4 advantage midway through the period when Walther connected from beyond the arc. The Golden Bears fought back to tie the game, however, as O'Neill drained a three at the buzzer to knot the score at 15-15 through ten minutes of play.
• Western New England took its first lead (16-15) on a free throw by Carlson early in the second quarter. The Golden Bears held their largest advantage of the half at 25-20 on a layup by sophomore Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) with 5:22 on the clock, and they took a four-point lead (27-23) into the locker room.
• After another layup by Orbann in the opening seconds of the second half gave Western New England a 29-23 edge, the Hawks responded with a 12-0 over the next six minutes to regain a 35-29 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter. Niland snapped the scoreless drought with a trey at the 3:47 mark, but the Golden Bears faced a 46-43 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
• Carlson and Gilhool both scored early in the final period as Western New England stayed within striking distance, but a 6-0 Roger Williams run put the visitors ahead by seven (54-47) with 6:13 to go.
• The Golden Bears got as close as four (54-50) when O'Neill halted the run with a three-pointer at the 5:47 mark, however they were unable to close the gap as Roger Williams pulled away late and held on for the win.

Notes
• Roger Williams shot 45.5 percent from the field, while Western New England connected at a 33.8 percent clip.
• The Hawks outrebounded the Golden Bears 46-28.
• Following her ten-point effort, O'Neill is 86 points shy of 1,000 for her career.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (2-2, 0-1 CCC) hosts Salve Regina and Roger Williams (5-1, 1-0 CCC) travels to the University of New England.