HARTFORD, Conn. (2/5/2025) – The Nichols College women's basketball team was unable to overcome a cold start on Wednesday night in an 83-71 conference loss to the University of Hartford inside Chase Arena.

With the loss, Nichols falls to 12-8 (5-8 CNE) with five regular season contests remaining. Hartford, with the win, improves to 8-12 (6-7 CNE).

Abrianna Vazquez led all scorers with 25 points on 6-of-18 (33.3%) shooting, which additionally included a 10-of-12 (83.3%) performance from the charity stripe and a pair of steals. Alyvia Smith chipped in with 13 points, along with four rebounds and a game-high six steals. Nichols finished the effort shooting 20-of-70 (28.6%) from the field, 10-of-39 (25.6%) from beyond the arc, and 21-of-30 (70.0%) from free throws while forcing 29 turnovers with 18 steals.

Nichols went scoreless for the opening 4:30 of the game and trailed at the end of the first quarter 25-10. Hartford continued to apply pressure into the second quarter, but the Bison eventually found their footing with a 7-0 run late in the period, made up of five straight Vazquez points and a Sarah Maher driving layup. In total, the Bison held a narrow 21-19 scoring edge in the second but still found themselves trailing the Hawks, 44-31 at halftime.

The Bison continued to step it up in the third quarter, combining for five made three-pointers from four different scorers. Two of the threes belonged to Smith and were scored just 25 seconds apart to cap off an 8-0 Bison run with under 4:00 to play, bringing them to within three points of the Hawks at 54-51. The remaining 2:30 of the quarter saw a handful of trips to the free throw line for both sides and ended with the two teams traded triples at the tail end, leading to a close 62-57 Hartford lead after three.    

Nichols kept even with Hartford to open the fourth, but couldn't make up the deficit as the Hawks eventually re-upped their lead to double digits late in the game, leading them to their 83-71 win.

The Bison return to the Nichols Athletic Center on Saturday, February 8^th when they play host to Western New England University (19-1, 12-1 CNE). Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM.