Recap
Senior Isabella Nerney knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 21 points as the Nichols College women's basketball team outscored Western New England University 24-6 in the fourth quarter to secure a 66-63 win Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Sophomore Leandra Ortiz added 17 points to go with five dimes and a pair of steals for the Bison (2-2), who snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Golden Bears. Their last win over WNE was an 80-65 triumph on February 8, 2014.  Senior Shannon St. Lawrence recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards while playing all 40 minutes.

"We dug in today and had more energy than last night," said Nichols head coach MaryLynn Skarzenski. "We grinded when things weren't going well and, in the fourth quarter, we decided to play defense and make it really tough. Then, we made shots. Shannon stepped up big today with a double-double. She decided she was going to be an offensive force and made some plays."

Dressing just six student-athletes due to injury, the Bison found themselves down 57-42 after three quarters of play. Nichols opened the final stanza on an 11-1 run, sparked by six points form freshman Abrianna Vazquez, to climb to within five at 58-53 less than four minutes in.

Nichols took its first lead since the first quarter at 61-60 on a driving layup from Ortiz with 2:51 on the clock, then took the lead for good on a pair of free throws from St. Lawrence with 1:05 to go. The Bison extended their lead to three on a layup from Nerney with 26 seconds to go before the Golden Bears missed three shots – including a pair of three-pointers – in the waning seconds.

"We make free throws in practice every day. Today, they had the mentality of 'We're going to attack and get to the free throw line and make them. We're going to win the game,'" said Skarzenski. "They were bought-in and excited. They knew what to do at the end. It's an easy team to coach when they're telling you what to do. Having four kids in double-figures was big and we need Izzy shooting three-pointers with confidence like she did today to be successful."

The Bison finished the afternoon shooting 39 percent from the field and won the game at the charity stripe, sinking 15 of their 20 attempts (75 percent).

Senior Emily Scurka led the Golden Bears with 17 points.