Providence, R.I.-Junior guard Michelle Lagrotteria (Niantic, CT) scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Rhode Island College women's basketball fell, 69-56, against intra-city rival Johnson & Wales at The Wildcat Center on Thursday night.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball early, but a 5-0 run by Johnson & Wales (3-2), capped by a pair of free throws by freshman guard Sarah Duryea (Middle Village, NY), pushed the Wildcat lead to six, 10-4, with 13:19 left in the half. A 6-2 RIC (1-6) run, capped by a layup from junior forward Devin Hill (Danielson, CT), made the score 12-10 with 10:51 left.
The Wildcats opened up an eight point lead, 20-12, on a three-ball from freshman guard Kristen Habbel (Phoenixville, PA) off a feed from senior forward Natalie DiCocco (Media, PA) with 6:36 left. The Anchorwomen battled back the remainder of the half and a Hill layup with 33 seconds left knotted the game at 24 apiece but a late Wildcat three-pointer made the score 27-24 entering the locker room.
The Wildcats shot 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from the field in the half, while converting on 100 percent (2-for-2) from the free throw line and 50.0 percent (5-for-10) from downtown. Rhode Island College shot 32.0 percent (8-for-25) from the field, while shooting 75.0 percent (6-for-8) from the charity stripe in the half.
The teams traded baskets throughout the first nine minutes of the second half and a huge three-pointer by Hill with 11:18 remaining tied the game, 38-38. The teams remained close over the next seven minutes and two free throws by Lagrotteria cut the Wildcat lead down to two, 53-51 with 5:28 remaining. The Wildcats then went on a 16-5 run to close out the game and took the victory, 69-56.
Hill paced the Anchorwomen with 17 points and five boards. The Anchorwomen shot 33.3 percent (17-for-51) from the field for the game, while shooting 30.0 percent (3-for-10) from three-point range and 73.1 percent (19-for-26) from the free throw line.
Johnson & Wales was paced by freshman guard Raquel Pederanzi's (Coventry, RI) 22 points. Freshman center Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, MA) and sophomore Bobbie Whitehead (Brooklyn, NY) rounded out the double digit scorers for the Wildcats with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
JWU shot 47.1 percent (24-for-51) from the field, 50.0 percent (7-for-14) from downtown and 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from the free throw line.
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will open Little East Conference play at home against Eastern Connecticut on Saturday, Dec. 6 (1 p.m.).