SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Nichols women's basketball team dropped a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup with Western New England on Saturday afternoon by the score of 97-81. With the loss, the Bison fell to 6-13 (4-8 CCC), while the Golden Bears improved to 10-9 (8-4 CCC.

Nichols used six three-pointers in the first quarter to keep the score close, trailing by only one point heading into the second. Western New England outscored the Bison 33-11 in the second quarter to head to halftime with a 23-point lead.

Nichols would not go away quietly, as they were able to cut the deficit to 13 late in the third quarter and trailed by 15 heading into the fourth. The Bison got within 12 in the final quarter, but Western New England was able to pull away late to secure the 16-point victory.
 

Kiera Fernandes was the leading scorer for Nichols with a career-high 34 points in just 27 minutes of action. Abrianna Vazquez chipped in with 23 points of her own.

Nichols looks to get back into the win column on Wednesday, February 1 when they travel to Beverly, Mass. for another CCC game against Endicott, with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.