DUDLEY, Mass. (3/16/24) – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team is now off to their best start to a season in program history after handing Massachusetts Maritime Academy a 16-8 defeat at Vendetti Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Bison claim their 7^th straight win, which also sets a program record for consecutive wins in a single season, improving them to 7-0 overall. Massachusetts Maritime falls to 2-4 (0-1 MASCAC).

Junior Hadley Houghton tallied nine points from six goals and three assists to pace the offensive cohort, while also snagging seven draw controls, three ground balls and three caused turnovers. It was also a four-goal outing for sophomore Emma Patton, with four total Bison registering multi-goal performances in the effort. Through the full 60 minutes of action, the Bison outshot the Buccaneers 28-24.

The Bison scored the game's first two goals and later took a 6-2 lead into the second quarter after Houghton netted four in the first frame, with each goal coming unassisted. The Bison then extended their lead to 9-2 following three unanswered goals from Makala Dube, Caitlin Welch and Emma Patton, with the latter being scored a man-down. The Buccaneers would get two goals back prior to the end of the half, but it remained Nichols' game, 10-4.

The third quarter went by as the quietest of the contest, with both teams only combining for three goals scored. However, with a 12-6 lead in the fourth, the Bison put the game away with four unanswered goals across a six-minute span, including a pair from Houghton to push their lead out to 10 goals, the largest margin of the game.

Despite giving up two goals late, the Bison went on to defeat the Buccaneers, 16-8.

Sophomore Briar Slattery went the distance in net for Nichols, stopping 13-of-21 shots faced for her fifth win of the season.

The Bison will now kick off a two-game road trip with a visit to Wellesley College (2-4, 0-1 NEWMAC) on Wednesday, March 20^th. Opening draw is slated for 5:00 PM at Butler Stadium.