BRISTOL, R.I. – On the Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team's Play 4Kay Day, the Hawks earned a convincing 74-51 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks came out decked with pink warm-up shirts and pink socks to help raise awareness for breast cancer. Throughout the day, donations were collected from fans in attendance for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. In all, the team raised $775 for the charity.
"We're really grateful to everybody who donated for such as great cause," said Head Coach Kelly Thompson. "For us to raise such an amount for an event on a national level is awesome."
The win for RWU puts the Hawks at 10-6 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (13-11 overall) and clinches at least the #5 seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament. Wentworth drops its eighth straight contest and falls to 1-22 overall and 1-15 in the CCC.
Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) gave Wentworth an early three-point lead with a trey before a three-point play by Alexandria Lanieri (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) tied the game. That would spark a 13-0 Hawk run over the next five minutes as RWU built a ten-point lead.
Wentworth remained within striking distance, pulling to within four (11-15) at one point on a pair of free throws by Anne Harris (Germantown, Md.). The Leopards would later close the gap on a 14-point deficit to go into the intermission trailing by a 25-33 margin.
The Leopards stayed within single digits for most of the opening part of the second half. Yet six straight points by the Hawks turned an eight-point game into a 50-36 lead for Roger Williams with 12:17 left. The Hawks would not let their lead drop below double digits from that point en route to the 23-point win.
Lanieri finished with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Kaitlyn Bovee (Berlin, Conn.) added six points and 12 rebounds. Elizabeth Kilzi (Waverly, Pa.) finished with 11 points and three assists in her first start of the season and only her second game of the year.
Roger Williams will travel to Western New England while Wentworth will be at Gordon, with both games on Tuesday.