MILTON, Mass.- The Curry College women's basketball team fell to visiting Roger Williams University by a final score of 54-44 in conference play on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hawks improve to 12-4 and 10-0 in the CCC. The loss moves the Colonels to 5-12 and 3-7 in league play.
The teams traded the first four baskets of the contest before either could gain the advantage. With 6:17 left in the first quarter Rebecca Ritchie (Hanover, Mass.) put the Hawks up by four at 8-4. Curry would come back to tie the game at nine, thanks to a 5-0 run capped off by a three by Erica Ulrich (Westminster, Mass.). Sam Bamford (Easton, Mass.) tallied the final points of the quarter as she knocked down a free throw to give the Colonels the 10-9 lead after one.
Caroline Kilduff (Rockland, Mass.) opened the second stanza with a bucket to push the lead to three. Following the basket, Roger Williams embarked on a 10-0 run to give the Hawks a seven point advantage (19-12). The lead would balloon to 20 before the end of the second quarter after Sam Leone (Ashland, Mass.) converted a three to make the score 34-14 with 1:31 left in the half.
The Colonels were able to trim the halftime deficit to as little as 12 in the third quarter after a bucket by Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass). The basket made the score 40-28 with 2:51 left in the stanza.
Roger Williams responded and pushed the lead back to 20 before the end of the quarter on a layup by Bridget Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) with 10 seconds to go (48-28). After the hoop Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) raced down the floor to score a layup to trim the deficit to 18 (48-30) heading into the final quarter of play.
Curry cut the deficit to as little as 10 in the fourth quarter as the Colonels outscored the Hawks 14-6 in the final stanza. A layup by Rice made the lead at 10 points with 3:38 to go in regulation. Following that bucket, Anna Walther (Northampton, Mass.) knocked down a three and Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) converted a free throw to push the lead back to 14 with 1:56 remaining.
Irwin would tally the final four points of the contest but Roger Williams came out with the 54-44 victory.
Quilty posted a team-high 16 points on 8-of-17 shooting and added seven rebounds, four blocks, two assists and one steal in the victory for the Hawks. Nicholas chipped in 14 off the bench as the other Roger Williams player in double figures.
Irwin paced all scorers with a game-high 19 and added 10 rebounds as she was the lone Colonel in double figures. Rice put up a near double-double with eight points on 4-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds. Molly Plunkett posted eight points while Bamford, Ulrich and Kilduff finished with three apiece to close out the scoring.
The Hawks outshot the Colonels as they registered a 38.8% shooting percentage. Curry shot 21.7% for the contest. Roger Williams also had the advantage in three point shooting, free throw percentage, rebounding, assists and bench points. Curry won the turnover battle only converting 16 to Roger Williams' 26. They capitalized on those mishaps, turning the 26 turnovers into 17 points. The Colonels also had the edge in second chance points (8-7).
Curry returns to action on Wednesday as they are set to host Endicott at 7:30 p.m. Roger Williams will next play Monday as they will welcome Wheaton in for a 5:30 start.
