DUDLEY, Mass. (Feb. 3) – The Nichols College women’s basketball team rallied past Anna Maria for a 67-59 victory in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup Wednesday evening. The Bison improve to 10-9 overall and 3-5 in conference action, while the AMCATS dip to 9-11 and 1-7 in league games.
Nichols jumped out to a 13-0 lead before Tonique Adkins sank a pair of free throws at the 12:41 mark to put the AMCATS on the board. Anna Maria cut the Bison’s lead to as few as six in the opening frame, but a 10-2 run saw the home team gain a 14-point advantage with 17 seconds left in the half. Samantha Ashton sank a jumper to end the half with Anna Maria trailing, 25-37.
The Bison dominated inside, sinking 20 points in the paint to Anna Maria’s four in the opening frame. The Nichols bench made an early appearance, chipping in with 21 first-half points led by 10 from Lena Fracassini (Bridgeport, Conn.) who also pulled down five rebounds in seven minutes on the floor.
The AMCATS chipped away at a 12-point Bison lead in the second, capitalizing on turnovers to tie things up and then take a one-point lead on a pair of Ashton free throws at the 7:10 mark. Chelsea Shaughnessy (Halifax, Mass.) responded with a second-chance jumper to reclaim the lead for the Bison, but Ashton nailed a three-pointer on the next possession to swing things back in favor of the AMCATS.
Lyndsey Bennett (No. Brookfield, Mass.) responded with a trey of her own to help the Bison get their groove back, as the home team rattled off nine unanswered points to retake the double-digit lead at 65-53.
Ashton scored a game-high 16 points to go with six rebounds in leading the AMCATS. She was joined in double figures by Adkins, who had 12, and Alison McCarthy, who scored 10.
Ashley Robidoux (Milford, Mass.) led Nichols with 13 points and a game-high eight assists, netting nine in the second half. Jessica Nelson (No. Providence, R.I.) put in 12, as did Fracassini, who pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Nichols finished the game shooting 42.6% and dominating the glass at a 43-31 clip, parlaying the difference into 20 second-chance points.
Nichols is back in action on Saturday in a 1 p.m. TCCC game at Gordon. Anna Maria hosts Wentworth Saturday for a 1 p.m. TCCC game.
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