BRISTOL, R.I. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by Roger Williams University, 61-36, this evening at the Student Recreation Center in Bristol, R.I.
The Lyons slip to 0-2 on the season, while the Hawks improve to 1-1.
Wheaton was held to just 21.9% (14-64) shooting, including 15.8% (3-19) from three-point range. Roger Williams struggled from the floor as well, shooting 31.8% (21-66) and made just two of 18 attempts (11.1%) from long range. The Hawks owned the glass with a 54-46 rebounding advantage, including 20 offensive caroms that led to a 20-7 margin in second chance points.
Senior guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) led the Lyons with 15 points and added three rebounds and a steal, while junior forward Cheyenne Colbert (Brookline, N.H.) scored 11 points to go with six boards, a pair of steals and a block. Senior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) contributed with a game-high 12 rebounds in addition to four points, a block and a steal.
Senior guard Sophia Coppola (Madison, Conn.) posted a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Roger Williams and added three assists, two steals and a pair of blocks. Sophomore forward Ava Azzaro (Northampton, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and a steal, while junior guard Chloe Richardson (Norwell, Mass.) netted 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with a pair of steals.
Walters opened the game with a layup to give Wheaton its only lead of the night at 2-0. The Hawks ripped off the next 13 points, behind five points from Coppola, to put the Lyons at a deficit they couldn't come back from (13-2) with 2:10 left in the opening quarter. Coppola closed out the period with a layup to give the home team a 17-6 advantage.
Junior forward Lilli Clark (Willimantic, Conn.) canned a three-pointer to give Roger Williams its largest lead of the opening half at 25-10 with 3:59 to go in the quarter. Wheaton scored the next six points, capped by a layup from Keyter, to shave the difference to 25-16 at the 2:04 mark of the quarter. Richardson converted the final layup of the half to give the Hawks a 27-16 cushion.
Senior guard Chelsea Graiver (North Yarmouth, Maine) hit a jumper to increase Roger Williams' lead to 32-19, before the Lyons scored the next four points to pull them within 32-23 with 6:54 left in the third quarter. It was as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest.
The Hawks reeled off eight straight points to give them a 40-23 advantage at the 4:25 mark. Colbert later knocked down a triple for Wheaton to make it 40-28, before Roger Williams netted the next 12 points, including the final seven of the third quarter. Azzaro drained a pull up jumper to cap the stretch and extend the Hawks' advantage to 52-28 with 8:43 to play in the game.
Colbert drilled a trifecta to cut the difference to 52-33 with 7:40 showing in the quarter, but Roger Williams held the Lyons scoreless for nearly the next seven minutes. The home team tallied nine unanswered points during the stretch, capped by a layup from Richardson to give the Hawks a 61-33 margin. First year forward Darlene Tashobya (Kampala, Uganda) scored the final points of the night for Wheaton on a layup to make it 61-36.
The Lyons return to the court on Saturday, November 15 when they travel to Nashua, N.H. to take on Rivier University at 1:00 p.m., while Roger Willliams heads to New London, Conn. to play Connecticut College on the same day at the same time.
