Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – Juniors Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.) each recorded a double-double to help the Nichols College women's basketball team overcome a seven-point halftime deficit and defeat Fitchburg State College 86-84 in overtime Thursday night in non-conference action at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Litwinko – who started the game 2-for-10 – finished the contest with a team-high 21 points to go along with 12 boards and four assists while Wegrzynek tallied 16 points and a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with five steals. The win gives the Bison their first 3-0 start since the 1990-91 season, when they opened the season with five-straight wins.

Senior captain Devon Spirka (Wilmington, Vt.) knocked down four of her five 3-point attempts en route to a 20-point performance, and junior Sarah Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) came off the bench to score 19 points. Nichols owned the glass, finishing the night with a 62-40 edge in rebounds, and connected on 23-20 of its 23 free throw attempts (87 percent).

Fitchburg State senior Amy Fahey (Wilmington, Mass.) led all scorers with 35 points on 15-of-19 shooting. She also registered nine rebounds, seven blocks, five steals, and two assists. Junior Laura Cote (Ashby, Mass.) was next for the Falcons (2-1) with 17 points but went just 6-of-15 from the field while classmate Britney Payne (Franklin, Ky.) filled the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

The Falcons took a 38-31 lead into halftime behind 14 points from Fahey and nine from Cote. They shot 42 percent from the field and forced nine turnovers. Nichols, meanwhile, was paced by Whitestone with eight points as well as six points and seven boards from Wegrzynek.

Fitchburg State's lead swelled to 10 on a layup by Fahey with 13:07 on the clock. The Bison climbed to within two points (60-58) after Whitestone ripped off five-straight points, and a pair of free throws by Litwinko brought them all the way back at 60-60 with 6:20 to go in the half. The two schools traded the lead twice down the stretch when, trailing by three with 1:17 to go, Whitestone canned a triple to tie the game at 74 and force OT.

With the game tied at 76 and 3:35 on the clock in the extra session, Spirka nailed a three-pointer to put the Bison ahead for good at 79-76. The lead grew to six (82-76) on a free throw by Wegrzynek and a layup by Whitestone, but a layup from junior Rebecca Fluet (Fitchburg, Mass.) with 45 ticks left brought the Falcons to within two. A Nichols turnover gave Fitchburg one final shot to tie or win the game, but Fahey's layup attempt was swatted away by Spirka, and Wegrzynek gobbled up the rebound to seal the win.

"We made some adjustments defensively which led to a big second half for us," said Nichols second-year head coach Alice Mullen. "Alexis, Sarah, and Chelsey (Mahoney) had some key steals for us, and we settled down and made some big shots which got us rolling. Once we got over the hump (and tied the game), I felt we had some momentum going into overtime. This was a huge win for us."

Fitchburg State finished the contest shooting at a 46 percent clip (32-of-70), won the turnover battle 21-18, and picked up assists on 18 of its 32 field goals (56 percent). Nichols, meanwhile, received 25 points from its bench (compared to six for FSC) and had 22 second-chance points. Freshman Julia Zawacki (Waterford, Conn.) chipped in with 12 rebounds, six points and three blocks for the Bison.

"We went into our pressure half-court defense which seemed to turn the tide of the game," added Mullen. "It led to some transition baskets. It was also an energy thing for us. Once we turned up our energy, we started making baskets."

The Bison travel to Lasell Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. contest. The Falcons host UMass Boston Tuesday at 7 p.m.