Nichols 70, WPI 59
Box
Score
Worcester, MA --- Lyndsey Bennett (North
Brookfield, MA) drained a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:33 to
propel Nichols to a 70-59 win over WPI in the opening game of the
Worcester City Women's Basketball Tournament hosted by Worcester
State on Friday evening. The contest was a rematch of last
season's ECAC New England championship game won by WPI.
After a Caitlin O'Connor (New Hampton, NH)
field goal put WPI up 57-55 with 3:54 remaining, the Bison did not
allow an Engineer field goal the rest of the way while scoring 15
of the game's 17 final points. Bennett's 3-pointers 29
seconds apart, both assisted by Michele Guerin
(Chicopee, MA), pushed a 59-57 Nichols advantage into a 65-57 lead
with just 1:04 remaining.
Guerin paced four Nichols players in double figures with 16
points and a game-best nine rebounds. Ashley
Robidoux (Milford, MA) chipped in with 15 points while
Bennett and Jessica Nelson (North Providence, MA)
added 13 and 12 points respectively.
Melissa Kuhn (Stoughton, MA) led the WPI attack
with a career-high 22 points. The junior canned 3-of-4
3-point attempts and 7-of-9 free throws while filling the stat
columns with five rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
Freshman Caitlin O'Connor (New Hampton, NH) added
14 points for the Crimson and Gray while
sophomore Baillie McNally (Mapleville, RI)
netted 7 points and Elle Fontaine (Franklin, MA)
grabbed a team-best six boards.
The two teams were tied at 27 at the half. WPI was
outrebounded by the Bison 26-9 in the opening stanza but was able
to overcome an early eight-point deficit by draining half its field
goals attempts (9-of-18) while limiting Nichols to 30.3% (10-of-33)
shooting from the floor.
WPI (0-2) will meet the loser of Friday's second game between
Worcester State and Becker in Saturday's consolation game.
Tipoff is slated for 2pm. Nichols (1-1) will face the winner
of Friday's night cap tomorrow at 4pm in the championship game.
