BEVERLY, Mass. (11/19/2025) – Despite a four-point lead at halftime, the Nichols College women's basketball team came up short in their CNE opener at Endicott College on Wednesday night, falling to the Gulls by a close 65-59 final score inside MacDonald Gymnasium.

The loss is the first of the season for the Bison, and brings them to 3-1 (0-1 CNE) overall on the campaign. Endicott improves to 3-2 (1-0 CNE) with the win.

For the second time this season, senior Alyvia Smith delivered a 22-point performance behind 9-of-22 (40.9%) shooting, along with three rebounds. Next up was classmate Adriana Romano, who dropped 10 points with five rebounds, and three assists. Senior Angie Coletti controlled the board with a career-high 10 rebounds, while the Bison finished the evening shooting 23-of-66 (34.8%).

The Bison hit the ground running with seven of the games first nine points scored, which included an early triple from Smith just 1:33 in. Over the next several minutes, the teams exchanged points with each trip up the floor, with the Bison ultimately owning a narrow 17-15 edge through one.

In the second stanza, the Bison would try to set the tone a second time via a three-point make early on, this time by freshman Dakoda Correia. However, the frame would feature more back-and-forth play between the two conference foes, with Nichols once again outscoring the host Gulls by a 17-15 margin, giving them a 34-30 advantage at the half.

With the teams back on the floor for the second half, the three-point shooting continued to reward the Bison with Rylee Barrieault sinking a shot from behind the arc, spearheading another stretch of alternating play. Then, approaching the midway point of the quarter, a Smith layup with 5:37 to go put the Bison in their best position of the night leading by eight points, only for Endicott to trim the lead back to just three at 49-46 entering the fourth and final quarter.

Despite Barrieault nailing another trey ball to kick off the quarter, Endicott would tilt the scales in their favor, and outscore the Bison 19-10 to win the game, 65-59.

Women's Basketball returns home to the Nichols Athletic Center on Saturday, November 22^nd for a non-conference matinee against Rivier University (0-4), with game start set for 1:00 PM.