Williamson Nets 1,000th Point in 74-61 Setback to RIC

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior guard Cara Paladino (Arlington, Mass.) led five Anchorwomen in double-figure scoring with 16 points to lead the visiting Rhode Island College women's basketball team to a 74-61 victory over Bridgewater State University on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

Both teams are now 2-2 on the season.

Along with her 16 points, Paladino notched seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.  Sophomore forward Vandell Andrade (Providence, R.I.) added 14 point on 6 of 8 shooting to go along with seven boards, two blocks and two steals.  Sophomore guard Danielle LeBlanc (Warwick, R.I.) chipped in with 13 points with 12 of those coming in the first half.

Senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) paced the host Bears with a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds as well as three assists, two blocks and a steal.  Senior guard Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, Mass.) added 11 points including the 1,000th of her career as she became the 16th player in program history to reach the milestone.   Williamson, who now has 1,004 points, reached the milestone on a close-range jump shot with 4:51 remaining in the first half.

The Anchorwomen scored the first nine points of the contest and led 11-3 early in the first half.  The Bears responded with a 12-4 run capped off by a Williamson three-pointer to knot the game at 15-15.  Clinging to a six-point lead (34-28) as the clock ticked down to four minutes remaining in  the opening stanza, the Anchorwomen would close out the half on a 9-3 run to take a commanding 46-31 advantage into the intermission.

RIC shot 53% (18-34) from the floor over the opening twenty minutes and forced 14 first half turnovers which led to 16 of the Anchorwomen's 46 points.

RIC would maintain at least a seven-point cushion for most of the second half and led 61-48 with 8:48 left to play.  Bridgewater would use a 9-2 spurt highlighted by a Rachel Kusz (Worcester,  Mass.) three-pointer and capped off by a Boutilette layup to pull to within six (63-57) with 4:15 to go.   The Bears, however, managed just one free throw over their next six offensive possessions to stall the comeback effort.  The Anchorwomen would outscore the Bears 11-4 over the final three minutes to pull away for the victory.

Senior guard Stephanie Prusko (Lincoln, R.I.) and sophomore guard Michelle Lagrotteria (Niantic, Conn.) also finished in double-figure scoring for RIC with 13 and 11 points, respectively, as the Anchorwomen starters combined to score 66 of the team's 74 points.

Senior guard Colleen Hanscom (Melrose, Mass.) added 11 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Bears, while Melissa Daigle came off the bench to score nine points.

Field goal percentages were fairly close over the course of the game with RIC shooting 42% (26-62) from the floor and the Bears connecting on 44% of their shots.

RIC, however, won the turnover battle as the Bears committed 23 miscues compared to just 14 for the visitors.  The Anchorwomen also made 11 more trips to the charity stripe, connecting on 18 of 24 (75%) attempts from the line.

Both teams are back in action on Sunday.  The Bears host the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs at six, while the Anchorwomen travel to Roger Williams University for a four o'clock game with the Hawks.