Box Score

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Nichols College women's basketball team suffered a 76-61 loss at Salve Regina University in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Thursday evening at the Rodgers Recreation Center. 

Senior Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) bounced back from a rough shooting effort two nights earlier to score a game-high 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds for the Bison (4-10, 1-7 CCC). Sophomore Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

Freshman Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) led five Salve Regina student-athletes in double-figures with 19 points, followed by sophomore Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) with 15 points - including 9-of-10 from the line. The win was the eighth-straight for the Seahawks (9-6, 6-2 CCC) while the Bison suffered their fifth-straight defeat.

The Bison shot a season-high 53 percent from the floor (29-of-55) but were outrebounded 37-32, went 2-of-12 from the charity stripe and turned the ball over 24 times. Conversely, the Seahawks knocked down 16-of-17 from the charity stripe while scoring 32 points off turnovers. 
 
The lead changed hands four times and the score was tied twice in the opening 4:30 before Harden hit both free throws to give SRU a 10-8 lead. Salve Regina pulled ahead by as much as six points on free throws from sophomore Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, Mass.) with 11:20 to play before the Bison began chipping away at the lead. 
 
A layup from Wegrzynek kicked off a 5-0 run for Nichols. A jumper from freshman Chelsey Mahoney (Dracut, Mass.) gave the Bison their first lead, 21-20, since the 17:38 mark. SRU senior Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.) put up a layup with 6:09 to play to give the Seahawks a 22-21 lead, one that they would not surrender for the rest of the game. 
 
With 1:50 left in the opening stanza, the Seahawks used an 8-2 run to close out the half and take a 39-29 lead into the locker room. 

The Bison did back down, however, and outscored the Seahawks 15-6 over the opening five minutes of the second half to pull within one, 45-44. After a steal from freshman Kaitlyn Lendrum (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), Harden took a pass from Birrell and put it in to give SRU a 47-44 lead. 
 
The two teams went back and forth on the next five baskets, but Salve Regina hit two three's in the mix to go up, 55-48.  After a three-pointer and layup from Harden made it 60-52 with 9:31 to play, the Seahawks went on a 12-2 tear over the next 5:32 to make it an 18-point game at 72-54. 

Sophomore Sarah Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) and Wegrzynek hit a jumper and a layup on back-to-back possessions for NC with 2:51 to play to cut the Salve Regina lead to 72-58, but that would be as close as the Bison would come to the Seahawks. 

Zophin hit the tail end of a trip to the free throw line for the Bison's last score of the game before sophomore Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) converted a layup off a pass from Harden to bring the game's score to its final at 76-61. 
 
Harden's 19 points paced the Seahawks while four other Salve Regina's players hit double figures. Del Valle was close behind with 15 points and Dinan chipped in 14. Sophomore Cortney Rosenlund (Whitinsville, Mass.) added 11 points and Birrell rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10.  Birrell led all players with nine assists and seven steals in the contest.
 
Nichols hosts CCC foe Gordon (2-13, 0-8 CCC) Saturday at 2 p.m. Salve Regina returns to the hardwood Saturday when it faces Roger Williams at 1 p.m. in Bristol, R.I.

Contributions from Salve Regina sports information