Box Score

PAXTON, Mass. – Junior Sarah Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) scored a team-high 19 points in Nichols College's first loss of the 2013-14 campaign, a 76-59 setback at Anna Maria College Tuesday evening.

Senior captain Devon Spirka (Wilmington, Vt.) added 15 points as the Bison (4-1) saw their nine-point halftime lead evaporate in a second half in which they were outscored 51-25. Senior Kasey Pelletier (Dunstable, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and four assists while junior Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.

AMC senior Taylor Walker (Winchendon, Mass.) and junior Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.) combined for 39 points and 29 rebounds to move to 3-2 on the season. Warburton notched 19 points for the second-consecutive game on 9-for-20 shooting and added a game-high 18 rebounds, five steals, one block and one assist for her second double-double of the season.

Walker, meanwhile, posted her fourth double-double in five games, scoring a game-high 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe. She also added 11 rebounds, one assist and one steal. Freshman Deja Taitt (Jamaica, N.Y.) also had a solid game joining her teammates in double-figures with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.

The AMCATS broke a six-all tie with a 7-0 run to take their biggest lead of the half 13-6 with 13:51 to play. A basket and a trey from Warburton, and a jumper in the paint by freshman Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.), sparked the run. The Bison outscored the AMCATS 15-8 over the next seven minutes to tie the game at 21 following a Spirka three-pointer from deep in the corner at the 5:57 mark.

With the game deadlocked, the Bison tightened up the defense, which caused four AMCAT turnovers that ignighted a 13-0 run and a 34-21 lead with less than a minute to play in the stanza. A jumper by Gauvin and a layup by Taitt at the buzzer cut the score to a manageable nine-point disadvantage (34-25) at the break.

The AMCATS came out strong in the second half. Warburton scored on Anna Maria's first possession and drew the foul. Although she couldn't complete the three-point play, she grabbed her own offensive rebound for an easy put back to cut the lead to five. Sophomore Lindsay Bond (Webster, Mass.) then drilled a three-pointer as the shot-clock was about to expire, and Taitt added a jumper to tie the game at 38.

Tied for the sixth time on the night at the 16:47 mark, the AMCATS reeled off a 12-2 run, capped by a Gauvin-to-Taitt trey from the corner that gave the home team a 10-point lead with 12:49 on the clock.

Nichols battled back with back-to-back three pointers by Pelletier and Whitestone, as well as Spirka basket, to cut the AMC lead to 50-48.  Walker responded with four point for AMC to build a 54-48 lead halfway through the stanza.

Nichols cut the lead to two points once again later in the second half, however the AMCATS held the Bison at bay and eventually pulled away for the 76-59 win.

After shooting a dismal 29 percent in the first half, Anna Maria responded with 17 second-half baskets (39 percent). Nichols shot 39 percent for the night. The AMCats outrebounded Nichols 55-29 – including 21 on the offensive end.

The Bison open Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Wednesday, December 4 with a 5:30 p.m. home contest against Roger Williams. The AMCats travel to Framingham State for a 6 p.m. contest on Thursday, December 5.

Contributions from Anna Maria sports information