WORCESTER, Mass. (Nov. 20) -- Lyndsey Bennett (North Brookfield, Mass.) drained a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:33 to propel Nichols to a 70-59 win over WPI in the opening game of the Worcester City Women's Basketball Tournament hosted by Worcester State on Friday evening.  The contest was a rematch of last season's ECAC New England championship game won by WPI.

After a Caitlin O'Connor field goal put WPI up 57-55 with 3:54 remaining, the Bison did not allow an Engineer field goal the rest of the way while scoring 15 of the game's 17 final points.  Bennett's 3-pointers 29 seconds apart, both assisted by Michele Guerin (Chicopee, Mass.), pushed a 59-57 Nichols advantage into a 65-57 lead with just 1:04 remaining.     

Guerin paced four Nichols players in double figures with 16 points and a game-best nine rebounds.  Ashley Robidoux (Milford, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points while Bennett and Jessica Nelson (North Providence, Mass.) added 13 and 12 points respectively.   

Melissa Kuhn led the WPI attack with a career-high 22 points.  The junior canned 3-of-4 3-point attempts and 7-of-9 free throws while filling the stat columns with five rebounds, four steals, and three assists.  Freshman Caitlin O'Connor added 14 points for the Crimson and Gray while senior Brittany McNally netted 7 points and Elle Fontaine grabbed a team-best six boards. 

The two teams were tied at 27 at the half.  WPI was outrebounded by the Bison 26-9 in the opening stanza but was able to overcome an early eight-point deficit by draining half its field goals attempts (9-of-18) while limiting Nichols to 30.3% (10-of-33) shooting from the floor.

WPI (0-2) will meet Becker in Saturday's consolation game.  Tipoff is slated for 2pm.  Nichols (1-1) will face Worcester State at 4pm in the championship game. The Lancers defeated Becker, 70-46, in the first day's nightcap.

Story courtesy WPI Sports Information

Box Score -- coming soon