DUDLEY, Mass. (1/24/2026) – The Nichols women's basketball team made some noise in the fourth quarter, but not enough to overcome a double-digit difference at the half against conference foe University of New England, resulting in a 56-42 setback on Saturday inside the Nichols Athletic Center.

With the loss, the Bison move to 9-10 (2-8 CNE) on the campaign, while UNE improves to 9-8 (4-3 CNE) with the win.

Alyvia Smith was the top Bison scorer Saturday with 14 points and six rebounds. Rylee Barrieault also pitched in with 12 points scored, while Kya Burdier finished as Nichols' top rebounder with seven on the day. From the floor, Nichols shot 16-of-61 (26.2%) with five makes from three-point range, but found themselves out-rebounded by the opponent by a 50-34 margin.

Smith opened the scoring just 1:11 into the game with a catch-and-release three pointer off a pass from Angie Coletti, before a Tianna Fernandez layup 39 seconds later made it a 5-0 game. Smith would later return for another triple at 6:21 to put the hosts up 8-2, but the visitors soon found their rhythm in the form of a 10-0 run to flip the lead in their favor, 12-8, a lead they would not forfeit the rest of the way.

In the second quarter, with the Bison trailing 12-9, the Nor'easters went off on another 11-2 run to extend their lead to double digits, 23-11. Nichols would be limited to just three more points up until the halftime buzzer, with UNE maintaining control of the score with a 14-point lead at the break, 28-14.

UNE saw its lead furthered to 17 points with a pair of early layups in the third quarter, but the Bison eventually fired back with six unanswered points midway through the frame, including another Smith triple at 6:10 to pull to within 10 points of the Nor'easters. Following another pair of makes by the visitors, the two sides continued to play through three scoreless minutes, with each side scoring three more points aside in the final 1:11.

Nichols turned up the heat with a solid 17-point effort in the fourth quarter, but to no avail as UNE matched them point-for-point to win the game, 56-42.

Women's basketball will have the week off before hosting Endicott College (10-7, 6-2 CNE) in a matinee conference showdown on Saturday, January 31^st at 1:00 PM.