Box Score The Nichols women's basketball team battled back from a 17 point deficit late in the second half but fell short in a 63-51 loss at WPI in the ECAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday night. A lay-up by senior Stacey Hejwosz (Dudley, MA) with 5:11 left got the Bison to within three but that was as close as they would get. Hejwosz led Nichols, which closes the season 17-11 overall, with 13 points.

WPI held the lead the entire way, taking its largest lead of the game, 46-29, with 11:17 left. Nichols then rattled off 14 straight points to cut the Engineers advantage to 46-43 with Hejwosz's lay-up. WPI's Caitlin Macko (Cromwell, CT) stopped the run with a pair of free throws and then WPI added some breathing room when Kaileen Selen (Worcester, MA) stole the subsequent inbounds pass and immediately hit Macko in stride for a layup that pushed the lead back up to seven points.

Nichols got one final crack in the last minute after a layup by sophomore MaryLynn Skarzenski (Woodbridge, NJ) cut the defict to five at 58-53 with 50 seconds remaining. Following a WPI missed layup, the Bison got what appeared to be an open look at a three-pointer but Selen came out of nowhere and blocked the shot. The Engineers would drain three-of-four free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory.

Senior Meghan Pajonas (Bristol, CT) paced WPI with 13 points and 12 rebounds.Freshman Curtia Humbert (Bridgeport, CT) tallied 12 points and Skarzenski finished with ten. Freshman Margaret Lilly (Ashfield, MA) contributed eight points and a team-best eight rebounds while the trio of Hejwosz, Humbert and Skarzenski all swiped four steals for the Bison.

WPI dominated the boards by a 47-34 margin as it will move on to face Endicott in the semifinals on Friday.