BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Kasey Pelletier (Dunstable, Mass.) scored 17 points and had five assists while junior guard Kristina Lindgren (Sturbridge, Mass.) added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals as the Nichols women's basketball team held off a late Wentworth rally with a 59-56 win over the Leopards in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.

Wentworth scored the game's first basket on a three pointer from sophomore guard Paige Newcomb (Topsfield, Mass.) 1:50 into the contest, but would not score again until 8:02 later. During that span the Bison raced out to a 12-3 lead, with Pelletier scoring half of her team's points.

A jump shot by sophomore forward Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) and three pointer from junior guard Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) pulled the hosts within four, but Nichols answered with a 7-2 spurt to lead by 11 (21-10) with 3:37 left in the half. A Kerr layup and one of two free throws from junior forward Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.) cut the deficit back to eight but the Bison allowed just four points over the final 2:34 of the half and took a 30-17 lead at the break. Over the first 20:00, Nichols shot 44.8 percent from the floor while holding the Black & Gold to just 18.8 percent.

The Bison opened the second half with a pair of baskets from junior forward Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) and Lindgren and extended their lead to 34-17. Wentworth cut the lead to as few as 12 with 17:03 left before Nichols built the lead back to 16.

Trailing 38-22 with 15:39 remaining, The Leopards scored the next seven points, capped by a three pointer from sophomore guard Christine Henry (Tewksbury, Mass.), and trailed by nine (38-29) with 11:53 to play. Pelletier and Kerr twice traded baskets and the Leopards found themselves down by nine with 9:37 remaining.

Nichols took a 51-39 lead with 3:56 left on a three pointer from junior guard Natalie Wilson, however a 7-0 Wentworth run cut the lead to five with 2:22 left. Wilson and Pelletier each hit a pair of free throws to up the lead to 55-46 with 1:42 left, but Kerr and Biggar combined to make three of four from the charity stripe and cut the lead to six with 1:08 left.

On the Bison's next possession, the Leopards forced a turnover but missed a jumper in the offensive end. Biggar got an offensive rebound and Henry drained a three with 50 seconds left to cut the lead to three. After a pair of missed free throws, Kerr made it a one-point game with a basket of her own.

Pelletier hit two free throws with 27 seconds left to push the lead to three, and, after a Leopard turnover, she hit two more to increase the lead to five. Conway cut it to three with a jumper before the Bison turned the ball over on the inbounds pass with five seconds left. Wentworth's chance to tie was just off the mark with under two seconds left.

Wilson added nine points for the Bison, who were held to 29.2 percent shooting in the second half, while senior forward Chelsea Shaughnessy (Halifax, Mass.) had 10 points and nine steals.

Kerr had a monster game for the Leopards, scoring 18 points and grabbing a career-high 23 rebounds, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Biggar had 11 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while Nine points and three assists. Conway and Henry each finished with eight points.

With the win Nichols improves to 3-7 overall and 2-1 in CCC play. Winners of two straight the Bison host Endicott on Tuesday night. Wentworth falls to 0-10 (0-3) and hosts Western New England Tuesday night.

NICHOLS 59, WENTWORTH 56
NICHOLS (0-10, 0-3 CCC)
Kasey Pelletier 4-10 9-10 17; Kristina Lindgren 5-14 4-5 14; Natalie Wilson 3-8 2-3 9; Chelsea Shaughnessy 3-4 0-2 6; Hayley Zophin 2-4 2-3 6; Carly Turpel 2-3 0-0 4; Alexis Wegrzynek 1-6 0-0 2; Emily Yourie 0-0 1-2 1; Sarah Whitestone 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 18-25 59.
WENTWORTH (3-7, 2-1 CCC)
Kendra Kerr 8-19 2-5 18; Jordan Biggar 2-14 7-8 11; Paige Newcomb 3-7 2-2 9; Ashley Conway 3-11 0-0 8; Christine Henry 3-9 0-0 8; Ashley Stowe 1-7 0-2 2; Anne Harris 0-0 0-0 0; Danielle Miranda 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-68 11-17 56.
Nichols.......................   30   29  -   59
Wentworth.....................   17   39  -   56
3-point goals--Nichols 1-7 (Natalie Wilson 1-4; Kristina Lindgren 0-1; Alexis Wegrzynek 0-1; Kasey Pelletier 0-1), Wentworth 5-16 (Christine Henry 2-4; Ashley Conway 2-8; Paige Newcomb 1-3; Jordan Biggar 0-1). Fouled out--Nichols-None, Wentworth-Paige Newcomb. Rebounds--Nichols 36 (Chelsea Shaughnessy 10), Wentworth 54 (Kendra Kerr 23). Assists--Nichols 13 (Kasey Pelletier 5), Wentworth 16 (Ashley Conway 5; Jordan Biggar 5). Total fouls--Nichols 16, Wentworth 20. Technical fouls--Nichols-None, Wentworth-None. A-75