The triumph was the 12th consecutive for the Nor'easters (17-4, 14-0 CCC), matching the longest win streak in school history, set two season's ago.
With the win, UNE is also guaranteed at least a share of the CCC regular-season title, as Big Blue now holds a four-game advantage over RWU (14-7, 10-4) and Western New England University (10-4 CCC) with four dates left before the postseason tournament.
After the Hawks went in front at 40-38, UNE first-year Meghan Gribbin (Windham, Maine) came right back down to erase the small deficit and Roger Williams' last cushion. RWU led for a total of 78 seconds the entire match, and by no more than two points at any time.
Two free throws from sophomore Kendra Dawless (West Greenwich, R.I.) gave the Nor'easters a lead they would not relinquish, while a fastbreak finish from Gribbin and a pair at the charity stripe from senior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) quickly extended the gap to six (46-40). Big Blue was up by no less than four the rest of the way.
The difference was five (54-49) with 3:37 left, but UNE notched seven unanswered to put it out of reach. First-year Michaela Flanagan (Plymouth, Mass.) scored five of her nine points in the spurt.
The Nor'easters converted 15 of their 24 field goal tries in the second half, made 2-of-3 treys, and sunk 12 of 16 free throws.
Gribbin matched her season-best scoring effort from earlier in the week with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, and added four assists. Suggs and sophomore Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) went for 15 and 10 points, respectively, and each corralled eight rebounds to help the Nor'easters to a 33-26 edge in the game. Big Blue got a nine-point, nine-rebound, five-steal performance out of first-year Lauren Hayden (Chantilly, Va.) in support.
For Roger Williams, Kaitlyn Bovee tallied 16 points, Ari Renwick had 14, and Angelica Ariola scored 13.
Though the Nor'easters raced out to a 10-2 lead in the initial 4:45, scoring was at a premium for much of the first period, in both directions. The teams combined to shoot less than 33 percent in the stanza, and settled on a 21-21 tie at intermission.
UNE visits Eastern Nazarene College on Wednesday (5 p.m.).