DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior Hayley Zophin (Framingham, Mass.) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Nichols College women's basketball team to a 46-39 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at the Nichols Athletic Center.
Sophomore Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with seven points, nine rebounds, two assists and one block as the Bison (4-5, 1-2 CCC) won their second-straight contest and first conference tilt of the season. Nichols held the Leopards (7-4, 2-2 CCC) to just 22 percent shooting (15-of-67) and received 19 points off the bench, led by junior Devon Spirka's (Wilmington, Vt.) 13.
Wentworth missed its first nine shots to open the game and finished the first half 6-of-38 (15.8 pct.) from the field. The Bison did not fare much better as they knocked down only four of their 22 shots (18.2 pct.) but closed the half on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 13 after 20 minutes of play. Zophin paced Nichols with four points and a game-high eight rebounds while senior Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.) racked up six points and six boards to lead the Leopards.
Zophin's layup three minutes into the second half put the Bison ahead 17-15 – their first lead since they opened the scoring on a free throw by Wegrzynek – and led by six following another Zophin layup at 15:08.
The Leopards regrouped and eventually regained the lead at 29-28 with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining in the stanza, but Nichols responded with a 13-4 run to open up an eight-point advantage with 3:52 on the clock. Zophin had five points during the run while both Wegrzynek and Spirka scored a pair of baskets. A layup by senior Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) cut the Leopards deficit to five with 2:08 remaining, but Spirka sank four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Conway led Wentworth with 13 points while Biggar had eight on 4-of-15 shooting. The Leopards outrebounded Nichols 48-43 and forced 17 turnovers, but could not get on track shooting. The Bison, meanwhile, shot 48 percent in the second half (10-of-21).
Nichols returns to action on Tuesday with a 5:30 p.m. contest at Endicott. The Leopards head to Springfield for a 7:30 p.m. contest with Western New England on Tuesday.
(Recap Courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)
