Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. - Junior Kasey Pelletier (Dunstable, Mass.) scored a game-high 14 points to help the Nichols College women's basketball team earn their second Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) win of the season, a 58-47 triumph over Gordon College Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Senior Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) notched her ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Bison snapped their five-game losing streak and improved to 5-10 (2-7 CCC).

Gordon sophomore Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) led all scorers with 20 points and also snared 13 rebounds. Junior Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Fighting Scots (2-14, 0-9 CCC), whose 22 turnovers led to 18 Nichols points.

Leading by one to start the second half, Nichols opened up a 10-point lead at 38-28 following a layup by freshman Chelsey Mahoney (Dracut, Mass.) with nine minutes remaining. A triple by Pelletier three minutes later pushed the lead to 13, and her layup with 4:50 on the clock gave Nichols a 45-30 advantage. Gordon climbed to within three on a three-pointer by junior Skylar Bareford (Stonington, Conn.) with under a minute to go in regulation, but six free throws from Pelletier down the stretch sealed the win.

“We were able to take Gordon out of the type of game it wanted to play, and that was the key to our win today,” said first-year head coach Alice Mullen. “They like to slow play down and sit in a half-court offense, but we forced them into 22 turnovers, which is what we were looking to do. Our press really ate them up in the second half, and our two freshmen (Mahoney and Jessica Kelliher) really stepped up at the top of the press. We were also able to make our free throws, which hasn't been the case lately.”

With the game tied at 14 midway through the first, Nichols went on a 7-0 run to grab a 21-14 lead, highlighted by a three-point play from junior Devon Spirka (Wilmington, Vt.). Four points from Kratche helped Gordon cut its deficit to one (23-22) at halftime. Zophin and sophomore Sarah Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) paced Nichols with six points each while Kratche led all student-athletes with 12.

Spirka finished with seven points and three assists while Whitestone had eight points and five rebounds. One of only four Fighting Scots to score in the contest, Bareford finished with nine points.

The Bison return to action on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. home contest against Curry. Gordon hosts Western New England Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.