DUDLEY, Mass. (1/17/24) –  Balanced scoring and a dominant first half paved the way for a 92-55 win for the Nichols College women's basketball program over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center.

With the win, the Bison improve to 7-8 (4-4 CCC) while the Leopards drop to 3-9 (0-7 CCC).

Nichols was led by graduate guard Kiera Fernandes with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting, while also grabbing five helpers and two steals. First year guard Rylee Barrieault  added a career-best 13 points off the bench on 5-of-11 shooting with two baskets from three-point range. Senior Abrianna Vazquez and sophomore Adriana Romano each tallied 12 points, while Alyvia Smith notched 11 to round out the list of five double-figure scorers for the Bison. As a team, the Bison finished 38-of-102 (37.3%) from the field, with a whopping 53 points scored off turnovers, 39 points off the bench, and 29 steals.

In the opening frame, the Bison quickly overwhelmed the Leopards with a 13-4 lead after finding early success from behind the arc. That success continued into what would be the Bison's longest scoring run of the season with 20 uninterrupted points, which stretched their lead out to 27 points at 33-6 with 41-seconds to go.

Wentworth opened the second quarter with a pair of jumpers to break into double digits, but still struggled to contain the Nichols offensive attack. Over the course of a single minute, the Bison furthered their lead out to 46-14 with a 10-0 run, with five different players scoring a pair of points during that stretch. By the 5:00 minute mark, the Nichols lead had grown to as high as 38 points, which later transformed into a 59-22 difference by halftime.

The Bison offense kept rolling into the third quarter but started to cool slightly as the Leopards discovered their offensive groove out of the break. The biggest scoring run of the quarter for the Bison came in the final 1:30 and accounted for seven straight points, beginning with a jumper by Smith. After Smith scored inside, a fastbreak three-pointer by Fernandes brought things to a 81-39 score, before Smith added one final jumper to close out the frame with Nichols in command at 83-39.  

Wentworth went on to outscore the Bison by a 16-11 margin in the final frame, but to no avail as Nichols took the win 92-55.

Up next for the Bison is a matchup at Curry College (5-10, 0-7 CCC) on Saturday, January 20^th. Tip-off from Student Center Gymnasium is set for Noon.