NEW LONDON, Conn. (12/15/2025) – The Nichols women's basketball program will enter the holiday break on a hot streak, after defeating non-conference Mitchell College, 75-58 for their third consecutive victory inside the Yarnell Athletic Center on Monday afternoon.

With the win, the Bison improve to 8-4 (1-2 CNE) on the campaign, while the Mariners now sit at 2-7 overall.

Three Bison starters finished the day in double-figure scoring to headline the balanced offensive effort. Senior guard Alyvia Smith was the leader with 14 points on 6-of-15 (40.0%) shooting,  while graduate student Summer Klein and junior Rylee Barrieault chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Barrieault also finished the day with a team-best five assists in the win, with senior Angie Coletti and freshman Dakoda Correia leading the rebounding effort with five boards apiece. For the second game in a row, Nichols shot above 40 percent from the field going 29-of-67 (43.3%) against the Mariners, while also hitting 10-of-32 (31.3%) from three, and 7-of-9 (77.8%) from free throws.

The game got off to a rather sluggish start for both teams, with Nichols' first basket arriving off a made layup by Barrieault five minutes into the action. With the score knotted up at 5-5 less than a minute later, Nichols turned up the heat with a 13-2 run throughout the remainder of the quarter, which included two makes from behind the arc by Klein, giving the guest Bison an 18-7 edge after one.

Adriana Romano cashed in for three points after drawing a foul on a make to open the second quarter, before returning shortly thereafter with another driving layup at 8:34 to extend Nichols' lead to 14 points, 23-9. Down the stretch, another series of threes between Smith and Barrieault bolstered Nichols' lead heading into the second half, with a final jumper by Isabella Lopez-Marin capping off a 10-0 Bison run for a 42-21 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, Nichols maintained a 20-plus point lead throughout the majority of the frame, with the lead growing to as many as 26 points on a fast break Kya Burdier layup at 2:17, with Correia adding the helper on the play. However, Nichols' lead saw its largest margin in the fourth and final frame, courtesy of a Smith layup at 3:55 to make it a 27-point difference, 72-45.

Despite a 13-3 Mitchell run to close out the game, Nichols' lead would prove insurmountable for the Mariners, with the Bison walking off victorious by the 75-58 final score.

Women's basketball will begin full-go conference play following the break at the University of New England (3-6, 1-1 CNE) on Saturday, January 3^rd. Tip off is set for 1:00 PM against the Nor'easters, with the game taking place inside the Harold Alfond Forum.