Hawks Women’s Basketball fought a hard game this past weekend to start the season off with a win. The game was at home, this last Saturday at 1pm. It was the first game for both the Hawks and the Babson College Beavers. Previously, at their last matchup against the Beavers in November 2022, the Hawks did not win. The team was determined to not let history repeat itself.
Within the first minutes of the game, the tone was set. After back-and-forth points, freshmen Chloe Richardson assisted Sophia Coppola for two 3-pointers and finished the first quarter with a score of 21-17.
Starting the second quarter with a comfortable lead, the women kept up their good defense. The Hawks dominated on the glass, out rebounding Babson 12-7. By halftime, Coppola had scored 11 points and Richardson closely followed with 9 points. The Hawks finished the first half of the game with a score of 42-33.
During the break, the Beavers made adjustments and came out strong for the 3rd quarter. Babson started the half with a seven point run, however the Hawks quickly bounced back. Senior Katie Galligan scored nine points in the quarter alone, alongside Junior Caroline Elie who secured five rebounds.
Stepping into the final quarter with a lead of 12 points, the competition was tough. Once again, Babson started off strong and ran with a seven point streak, until the Hawks were able to pull away in the last minutes and secure the win with a final score of 70-63. The top scorers of the game were Coppola and Galligan, both with 19 points, and Elie with 12 points.
The women have claimed the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship for the past two years and are pushing for a third. In a preseason poll of the CCC head coaches, RWU was voted to once again win the championship for the 2023-2024 season. Eight of the nine first-place votes were handed to the Hawks.
