Statistics

BRISTOL, R.I. -- Despite seeing a 10-point, 4th-quarter cushion disappear over the final five minutes of regulation, the University of New England secured a 61-57 win over previous Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) unbeaten Roger Williams University at the Campus Rec Center on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 12).

It marked the sixth consecutive victory for the Nor'easters (15-8, 13-3 CCC), who maintain their second-place standing with two contests remaining before the postseason tournament. The Hawks -- receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and ranked No.16 in the WBCA Coaches Poll -- fall to 20-2 overall and 15-1 in league action.

Roger Williams struck first in the extra session with a hoop from Katie Galligan (55-53), but a trey from Sierra Tartre -- her only points of the day -- immediately restored the UNE advantage with 2:38 to go. Juliana Tracey added two free throws for the visitors with 39 ticks on the clock, but Galligan finished a put-back with 0:22 showing to keep the hosts in touch (58-57). After one by Allie Goodman, a steal from Abby Cavallaro led to a couple more freebies that all but sealed it.

Goodman, who did not play when the teams first met (RWU 58-46), led the Nor'easters with 18 points and nine rebounds. Cavallaro tossed in another 15, and Kaylee Beyor chipped in with 12 points and eight boards. Tracey supported with eight points, and Tartre shared the game-high of nine rebounds.

UNE committed 20 turnovers in the match, to just eight by the Hawks, but out-scored Roger Williams by 12 (18-6) from long range and six (13-7) at the charity stripe to negate the effect.

Galligan topped all scorers with 20 points for RWU, and Karli Opalka had 14 -- both collected eight rebounds. Caroline Elie totaled 11 points, four steals, and three blocks prior to fouling out. Kendi Barnard recorded nine caroms, including six of the team's 26 on the offensive glass. But those only translated into 15 second-chance points.

The Hawks were held to 29 percent field goal accuracy (24-for-84) by the Nor'easters, and went just 2-of-23 from downtown. Back on January 15 against UNE was the only other time this season that Roger Williams shot under 35 percent in an outing (28%). The hosts also left 14 points at the free throw line, going 7-for-21.

The Nor'easters led most of the way, and used a 14-2 run spanning the latter moments of the 1st and initial stages of the 2nd to extend to a 26-12 margin. Jordyn Franzen tallied all of her five points in that time. The difference was still 14 (31-17) until a pair of triples by Galligan began eight in-a-row and the gap was 33-25 at the half.

Things shifted between seven and three in the 3rd quarter, and left UNE with a 47-41 edge through 30 minutes. Cavallaro had eight in the period, and opened the 4th with a three-pointer to make it 50-41. However, aside from a Beyor free throw at 7:30 (51-41) and a Cavallaro layup at 1:28 (53-46), the visitors missed seven field goals and lost possession five times down the stretch. Galligan scored six in the last 82 seconds of regulation, including a couple at the stripe (0:06) to tie it up.

The Nor'easters return home to face Gordon College (7-8 CCC) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.