Conn College Improves To 8-1 In Women's Basketball

Connecticut College continued an impressive women's basketball season on Tuesday, defeating Roger Williams University in the final action before the winter break on Tuesday. The men's basketball team dropped an early lead to fall to Springfield College. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

Women's Basketball: Conn College 54, Roger Williams 41

Connecticut College earned its fifth victory in a row with 54-41 victory over the Roger Williams University women's basketball team Tuesday evening. Connecticut College improves to 8-1 on the year while the Hawks fall to 4-3.

The Camels used a combination of strong offensive rebounding and quick transition offense in the win. Connecticut College outrebounded the Hawks 24-10 on the offensive glass, 51-36 overall. In addition, Connecticut College ran off 15 fast break points, as compared the RWU's two.

Kaitlyn Bovee (Berlin, Conn.) put in a layup in the opening minute for RWU before Jenn Shinall (Redding, Conn.) knocked down a three-pointer to give the Camels the lead. Connecticut College would go on to hold on to its lead for a majority of the period; Roger Williams tied the game on three separate occasions in the half. A layup by Bovee at the 8:54 mark knotted the game at 15, but Connecticut College would end the half on an 8-1 run, going into the break up by a 23-16 score.

In the second half, the Camels built their lead to double digits on a jumper by Tara Gabelman (Irvington, N.Y.) to make it 32-21 with 16:28 to play. Carlee Smith would give Connecticut College its largest lead of the game at the 10-minute mark, putting in a basket to give the Camels a 42-25 lead.

From that point, the Hawks would mount a comeback of their own, running off a 14-2 run to pull within five (39-44) with 5:06 to play. That would be as close as RWU would get, as two quick Camel baskets within a minute put Conn back up by nine. Roger Williams would only muster two more points over the rest of the game, giving Connecticut College the win.

Gabelman finished with a double-double for the Camels, going for a game-high 17 points and 16 rebounds (nine offensive). Smith also had a double-double for Connecticut College, notching ten points and a game-high 11 assists to go along with five rebounds. Shinall added 16 points and five steals.

Bovee scored 15 points for the Hawks, while Alexandria Lanieri (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Weekes (Worcester, Mass.) added four points and three steals, while Paige Congdon (Westwood, Mass.) contributed six boards, four blocks, and two steals.

Roger Williams will be off for the next two weeks before traveling to the Springfield College Invitational on New Year's Day. Connecticut College hosts Eastern Connecticut State on January 2.

Men's Basketball: Springfield 52, Conn College 44

Junior Alex Berthiaume poured in a game-high 22 points to lead the Springfield College men's basketball team to a 52-44 come-from-behind win at Connecticut College on Tuesday evening.

The Pride, which trailed by as many as nine in the second half, improves to 7-3 with the victory. The loss drops the Camels to 3-5.

Playing all 40 minutes, Berthiaume was the lone member of the Pride to score in double figures as he posted his fifth game this season with at least 20 points. Ryan Coburn added nine points, eight boards, and five blocks, while freshmen classmates Josh Altman and Nick Sienkiewicz each tallied seven points.

For the Camels, Matt Vadas posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Rob Harrigan added nine points and eight rebounds for the Camels.

The hosts jumped out to an early lead in the first half of action. Vadas knocked converted a three-ball with 13:36 remaining to make it a 9-4 game. But Evan Christner scored the next two field goals to make it a 9-8 contest with 11:21 to go.

The Camels carried the lead for the duration of the half. With 2:21 to play, Brian Mahoney buried a trey from the right side to put the Camels on to 22-17. With 1:01 remaining, Coburn answered with a lay-up and the Camels carried a 22-19 advantage into the break.

The Camels put together an 8-to-0 run at the start of the second half to build a 30-21 advantage. Harrigan capped the rally with 14:28 remaining, converting a triple for the hosts.

But the Pride responded with a 9-to-0 run of their own. Sienkiewicz buried a three with 8:47 to go that put the visitors on top for good at 35-33. Springfield extended its advantage to 41-34 after Altman scored a pair of free throws with 4:47 to go.

But Vadas kept the Camels in the game with some timely offense down the stretch and converted a pair of free throws with 1:15 remaining to trim the deficit to 45-41. However, on the ensuing possession, Altman was able to knock down a triple with 46 seconds remaining to push the visitor's edge to 48-41.

The Camels could not get any closer and the Pride prevailed by a final score of 52-44.

The difference in the game came from the charity stripe in the second half as the Pride converted 19-of-26 attempts. Connecticut College made 7-of-11 of their chances.

The Pride will have several weeks off before hosting the Hampton Inn/Naismith Classic on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. The Pride will open up the Classic against University of New England at 3:00 pm on December 31.