Box Score BRISTOL, R.I.--Sophomore Chelsea Vujs recorded the only double-double of the game with a team-high 13 points and game-best 11 rebounds, but Western New England began the New Year with a 67-46 loss at Roger Williams University in a Commonwealth Coast Conference women's basketball contest at the Campus Recreation Center on Saturday. The host Hawks improve to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in the CCC, while the Golden Bears drop to 4-5 and 1-2. 

Angelica Ariola led three Hawks in double digits with a game-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, followed by Ari Renwick with 15 and Kaitlyn Bovee had 13. Shannon Cullen stuffed the stat sheet with six points, five boards, four steals, and three blocks.

Graduate student Nicole Daly added five points and five rebounds, while senior co-captain Ali Pessolano scored six points off the WNE bench. Vujs chipped in three steals to go along with her team-leading fifth double-double of the season.

Western New England played just about even with RWU in the second half with 28 points to 29 for the Hawks, improving its field goal percentage by over 400 points from the first 20 minutes.

But the Golden Bears got off to a slow start by shooting 22.9 percent (8-35) to a 45.7 (16-35) clip by RWU to trail 38 to 18 at halftime. Both teams struggled to score in the beginning of the game, combining to shoot 2-for-13 over the first four minutes of action. Despite the two sides trading baskets early on, the game remained a low-scoring affair. The Hawks held a slim 10-9 advantage eight minutes into the first half.

Roger Williams began to push the pace in the latter part of the first half as it was able to build a 14-11 lead with 9 minutes and 27 seconds left into a 15-point advantage (28-13) with 4:18 to go. Ariola scored the final six points of the half to give RWU a 20-point lead going into the break.

Roger Williams took its largest lead on a 3-pointer by Ariola at the 15:55 mark of the second half, giving the Hawks a commanding 49-23 advantage.

Despite the large deficit, the Golden Bears continued to play hard on defense, clamping down and holding the Hawks to six points over a seven-minute stretch. Unfortunately for WNE, the hole proved to be too big to climb out as the team couldn't cut the deficit into single digits.

Roger Williams held a slim 39-38 advantage on the glass as Bovee pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. The Hawks also took advantage of 22 WNE turnovers while committing just 10 of their own.

Western New England returns to action on Tuesday when it entertains CCC foe Gordon College at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. In addition, the Golden Bears non-conference game at Fitchburg State that was postponed due to Thursday's snowstorm has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6, in Fitchburg, Mass.

(Editor's note: Roger Williams Athletic Communications contributed to this game recap.)