BRISTOL, R.I. (January 30, 2016) - The Western New England University women's basketball team rallied from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit and came up with a clutch defensive stop on the final possession of overtime to secure a key 73-71 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory over Roger Williams University this afternoon at the Campus Rec Center. 

With the win, Western New England (11-8, 8-4 CCC) now holds the tiebreaker for third place in the CCC standings over Roger Williams (11-8, 8-4 CCC) with six games to play in the regular season. 

Senior forward Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) scored six of her game and season-high 27 points in the extra period, and had the Golden Bears ahead by three (72-69) after making 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with 21 seconds remaining in overtime. After a pair of free throws by senior Angelica Ariola (Prospect, Conn.) cut the margin to one, the Hawks were whistled for a technical foul for calling a timeout when they had none remaining. Sophomore guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down 1-of-2 free throws, and the Golden Bears' strong defense on the final Roger Williams possession sealed the victory as Ariola's last-second three-point try was off target. 

Vujs shot 11-of-24 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line en route to her highest point total of the season, in the process passing both Roma St. George '82 and Jamie Carney '03 for 11th place on the program's all-time scoring list. The senior, who needs just 11 more points to break into the top ten, also grabbed eight rebounds to go with four assists and four steals in the big road win.

Junior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) was also in double-figures with 14 points, while juniors Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.) and Sammie Olson (Tolland, Conn.) finished with eight each and freshman forward Allison Mishol (Longmeadow, Mass.) chipped in with seven points and four rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. 

Junior guard Katie Lowerre (Sharon, Mass.) paced Roger Williams with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point distance, to go with six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Mariah Nicholas (Acushnet, Mass.) made 8-of-13 shots en route to a 16-point, nine-rebound, three-steal effort, while Ariola added 14 points and five boards and junior Bridget Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) posted a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds. 

Western New England, which trailed by nine (58-49) through three quarters, opened the fourth period with a 9-0 run to knot the score. The Hawks eventually went back up by four, but Vujs got to the free throw line and knocked down both attempts with 2:28 left in regulation to tie the score at 62, and neither team scored the rest of the way, sending the contest to overtime.

The Golden Bears and Hawks shot 37.1 percent (26-of-70) and 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field for the game, respectively, while Western New England held an advantage in the paint, outscoring Roger Williams 26-20, to go with a 23-14 edge in points off turnovers.

Roger Williams scored the first 11 points of the game with the help of five from Lowerre and a pair of Golden Bear turnovers, and the Hawks led by as many as 15 (21-6) following a layup by Nicholas with 3:17 left in the first quarter. 

A three-pointer from Battaini on Western New England's opening possession of the second period had the Golden Bears back within nine (23-14), and they cut their deficit to six (27-21) three minutes later when Olson connected from beyond the arc. Roger Williams was able to extend its advantage back to 12 by halftime, however, as the Hawks posted a 7-2 run over the final 1:36 of the frame. 

Western New England got as close as six (52-46) when Anderson converted a traditional three-point play late in the third quarter, but faced a 58-49 deficit heading into the fourth.

The Golden Bears will be back in action on Tuesday night at Wentworth, while Roger Williams heads to Dudley, Mass., for a matchup with Nichols.