Women’s Basketball Suffers Defeat at Roger Williams

BRISTOL, R.I. (January 28, 2020) – The Western New England University women's basketball team suffered a 59-53 defeat at Roger Williams on Tuesday evening at the Campus Recreation Center.

Top Performers
The Hawks were led by sophomore Karli Opalka (Southbury, Conn.), who had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Sam Leone (Ashland, Mass.) contributed 13 points.

The Golden Bears were led by senior guard Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.), who led Western New England in scoring with 14 points.

Game Review
It was back and forth during the first quarter between the Hawks and the Golden Bears with the score tied at 6-6 with 6:11 remaining in the quarter. There were five different lead changes during the first quarter. A layup by Farrell with one minute remaining in the quarter cut the Hawks lead to one as they led 14-13 going into the second quarter.

The Golden Bears took the lead early in the second quarter after a layup from sophomore guard Julia Quinn (Thomaston, Conn.) gave Western New England a 17-16 lead before Leone made a layup a minute later to give the Hawks the lead back. The Golden Bears tied the game at 24-24 off a layup from senior guard Alyssa Stefanelli (Chicopee, Mass.). The Hawks again took the lead back just before halftime.

A layup from senior forward Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) gave Western New England a 29-28 lead just over a minute into the second half. The Hawks jumped ahead 37-31, then the Golden Bears went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Roger Williams scored a couple baskets just before the end of the quarter to take a three point lead going into the final quarter.

With the score at 52-50 in favor of the Hawks with 2:15 to go, Roger Williams went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to lock up the win.

Notes
• Western New England's winning streak comes to an end
• Orbann is now within 30 points of reaching 1,000 career points.

Up Next
Western New England (15-4) will travel to Salve Regina on Saturday afternoon. Roger Williams (11-8) will host Wentworth on Saturday afternoon.