ROCHESTER, N.Y. – After watching film on Saturday, the Roberts Wesleyan University women's basketball team emphasized four points during its brief practice: rebounding, defense, shooting and making the extra pass.
The Redhawks executed those areas to near perfection on Sunday afternoon in a 75-58 victory over Molloy in an East Coast Conference game at the Voller Athletic Center.
Roberts outrebounded the taller Lions 43-41, held Molloy to 32.4 percent shooting (including 0-for-21 from three-point range), made 11 of 23 threes on offense and registered assists on 23 of 31 field goals while snapping a seven-game losing streak.
The Redhawks (6-14, 2-10 ECC) also played inspired basketball throughout the contest.
"I think that it was extremely important to come out with a lot of energy," said guard Georgia Haverlock, who led Roberts with 22 points and 12 rebounds. "We knew that Molloy was going to come at us and we needed to come back at them even harder."
Roberts was particularly sharp at closing the first three quarters. Marianna Freeman hit a three at the end of the first quarter to cap a 6-0 run and give the Redhawks a 16-12 lead, Freeman and Haverlock hit threes to key a 14-6 run over the last 4:07 of the first half to put Roberts up 37-28 at the break and Roberts ended the third quarter with nine straight points in the final 57 seconds to take a 59-39 advantage into the final frame.
Junior forward Grace Dow contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for the Redhawks while Freeman added 13 points and five assists and Danielle DiCintio chipped in with 10 points and seven assists.
Crisp ball movement led to several clean looks for Roberts throughout the game.
"We call it the 'one more' pass," Clifford said. "I think that we were really unselfish tonight. There were probably times when they should have shot and they passed it extra, but Molloy is a great defensive team and we made them scramble a little bit."
"I think that unselfish basketball is always a characteristic of a good team and today we were able to sacrifice a good shot for a great shot and it worked to our benefit," added Haverlock, who finished with four assists while bringing her career point total at Roberts to 985.
Sophomore Paris Anthony provided 7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals and senior forward Emily Palmer added four points and four rebounds for Roberts.
The win provides the Redhawks with a boost as they head into the final four games of the season.
"We go one game at a time, but I think that this is going to help them with their confidence and momentum," Clifford said.
The Redhawks return to action at 5 p.m. on Wednesday for an ECC game at the College of Staten Island.