DUDLEY, Mass. - The Nichols College women's basketball team came away with an improbable come-from-behind victory over Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Opponent Salve Regina on Wednesday night by the score of 103-94. The Bison stormed all the way back from down 24 in the first half to secure the win and improve their record to 4-11 (3-6 CCC), while Salve dropped to 10-6 (5-4 CCC).
 
The Seahawks used their size to their advantage in the first quarter, out-rebounding the Bison 20-8, to jump out to a 10-point lead. Salve would use a 22-6 run to start the second quarter to extend their lead to 24 points with just 3 minutes left to play in the half. Nichols would finish the half strong, trailing by 17 to start the third quarter.
 
It was a tale of two halves as the Bison used their full-court pressure defense to slowly climb back into the game. After a string of Salve turnovers, an Abrianna Vazquez 3-pointer would cut the deficit to just 10 with 6:11 left in the third. After a few back-and-forth baskets, sophomore Hadley Houghton grabbed the defensive rebound and took it coast-to-coast to bring the Seahawks lead to within single digits before the start of the final quarter.
 
Down 78-70 with 7:00 remaining, the Bison used an 8-0 run, capped off with a Houghton and-one to tie the game. From there on out, the Bison's relentless defensive pressure was too much to handle for the Seahawks, forcing turnover after turnover. Senior forward Kiera Fernandes drilled back-to-back threes to give Nichols their first lead of the game with 2:38 to play. Vazquez went a perfect 10-10 from the foul line in the remaining minute to seal the comeback for the Bison.
 
Vazquez would finish with a career-high 45 points while going a near-perfect 15-16 from the line. Fernandez also finished with her own career-high 31 points, including 5 three-pointers. As a team, Nichols forced 36 turnovers, turning them into 33 points. The 103 points scored by the Bison is a Nichols College women's basketball record.
 
The Bison look to carry their momentum into Saturday when they take on CCC foe Gordon College at 1:00 p.m. at the Nichols Athletic Center.