Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College women's basketball team rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to stun Anna Maria College 54-53 in non-conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon in the season-opener for both at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Senior captain Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.) scored 14 of her team-high 19 points in the second half – including knocking down the tying and go-ahead free throws with two seconds remaining – and also grabbed 13 rebounds for the Bison. Classmate Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with 11 points and nine rebounds while senior Sarah Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) netted 15 points.

Senior Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.) posted a double-double for the AMCats with 20 points and 16 boards in 38 minutes. Sophomore Deja Taitt (Jamaica, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting while sophomore Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) scored 10 points.

The AMCats went up 49-32 on a layup by freshman Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) with 12:08 remaining in the second half. A pair of free throws from Litwinko at 6:52 brought the Bison to within nine at 50-41 before four-straight points from the captain made it a five-point game (52-47) with 3:58 to go.

Wegrzynek polished off a three-point play with 3:00 to go to make it a one possession game at 52-50. Following an Anna Maria turnover, Litwinko converted a layup to tie the game with 2:22 to go. The AMCats missed four-consecutive shots before Taitt was fouled and sank 1-of-2 from the line, giving her squad a one-point advantage (53-52). After four missed shots at the other end of the floor, Litwinko was fouled and calmly sank both free throws. Anna Maria did not get off a shot before the final horn.

"The biggest factor in our win today was our composure in the second half," said Nichols head coach Alice Mullen. "I was surprised with the amount of turnovers we made early on, and it really threw off our game plan. To be able to come back and pull out this win is a credit to everyone on our team playing their role. We got a big effort by Taylor Daniels, who shut down their point guard (Taitt), and then Amber Litwinko really carried us down the stretch offensively. Sarah Whitestone also had a solid game for us."

Anna Maria closed the first half on a 14-3 run to build an 11-point halftime lead (33-22). Warburton led all scorers with 13 points on 5-of-9 f shooting while Gauvin netted eight. Whitestone paced the Bison with nine on 3-of-10 shooting. The AMCats knocked down 38 percent of their first-half field goal attempts (12-of-32) and forced 15 Nichols turnovers.

"This is a big win for us coming out of the gate," added Mullen. "We need to find out what our identity is going to be as a team. I think this proved exactly who we are. We're a team that's not going to give us, that's going to stick together when we struggle."

Nichols shot 29 percent from the field (19-of-66), compared to 32 percent for the AMCats (20-of-62). The Bison held a 53-46 edge on the glass and also canned 13-o-f-16 from the charity stripe (81.3 pct.).

The Bison (1-0) return to action on November 22 with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Johnson State. The AMCats (0-1) travel Salem State for a 7 p.m. contest on Tuesday.