Statistics

BRISTOL, R.I. – Elizabeth Dufrane hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime, where Roger Williams narrowly emerged victorious over the University of New England women's basketball team, 65-63, in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England nail-biter between two postseason-bound teams in the Campus Rec Center.
 
With the regular season finale in the books, the Nor'easters (14-11, 11-7 CNE) set their sights on the upcoming CNE Tournament, where they'll hold the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Hartford for a first-round matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. Roger Williams (17-8, 14-4 CNE), which will have the No. 3 seed, is set to host No. 6 Suffolk the same night.
 
Kaia Anderson's career-high 25 points powered the UNE offense, while Roger Williams received balanced scoring that was led by Sophia Coppola, who posted a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
Anderson was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and 8-for-17 from the field during her game-best scoring performance. Hannah Cook was even more accurate from deep, hitting 4-for-4 to help UNE go 9-for-21 from long range while Roger Williams was just 2-for-14. A 49-33 rebounding advantage helped the Hawks compensate for both their cold perimeter shooting and their 20 turnovers.
 
The Nor'easters, who trailed 28-24 at halftime, led by seven with less than four minutes remaining in regulation before a pair of Dufrane buckets had the Hawks within one possession, 57-54, with just over two minutes to go. That set the stage for Dufrane to knock down the game-tying triple with seconds left to force the extra session.
 
Gabby Soter connected from deep to tie the game, 63-63, in the last two minutes of overtime, but Coppola answered with a bucket on the other end that would serve as the game's final points as both offenses went quiet down the stretch. UNE had a chance to tie or win with seconds left after Soter stepped in to draw a charge on the Hawks' final offensive possession, but the Nor'easters were unable to convert.
 
UNE fell to first-round opponent Hartford, 61-58, on the road in the season's first meeting, but avenged that loss with a 71-58 home win exactly one month prior to the upcoming postseason tilt.