BOSTON, Mass. (1/13/24) - The Nichols College women's basketball team couldn't keep pace with Suffolk University in a 94-70 setback at Smith Gymnasium in Boston, Massachusetts Saturday afternoon.

Nichols drops to 6-8 (3-4 CCC) with the loss, while Suffolk improves to 11-4 (5-3 CCC).

Abrianna Vazquez led all Bison scorers with her third consecutive 20-point game, finishing the afternoon with 21 points and a team-high seven steals and five assists. Through 24 minutes on the floor, graduate Kiera Fernandes registered 12 points with four rebounds, while senior Summer Klein scored 11 points through 20 minutes, additionally with four boards. The Bison finished the day with 33.8% (27-of-80) success from the field, scoring 30 of their points from the paint.

The Rams came out hot, shooting 80% in the first quarter. Through the opening six minutes, Suffolk had climbed ahead by a 23-4 margin, limiting the Bison to just single baskets at a time. The longest run for Nichols occurred late in the quarter, where an Adriana Romano three was followed up by a Vazquez layup, which brought the Bison to the end of the quarter trailing 15-29. The Rams defense continued to limit the Bison offense by holding them to just 33% from the field in the second, which worked well with a balanced attack that extended their lead to as many as 28 points. However, the Bison were able to finish out the half on a high note by fabricating a 7-0 run to shrink the deficit down to 21 points, with Suffolk still leading 52-31 at the intermission.  

The third quarter told a different tale for the Bison, who opened with another 7-0 run to stretch their scoring streak out to 14-points, cutting the Ram lead down to 55-38. A single Suffolk three-pointer failed to halt the Bison scoring surge as Vazquez started and finished an 11-0 run with baskets from behind the arc, which suddenly brought the Bison to within six points at 55-49. However, with 4:20 remaining, the Rams held the Bison scoreless through nearly two and a half minutes, during which time they scored 18 consecutive points to put their lead back over 20 points.

Suffolk went on to secure the win 94-70, as Nichols was held to 31.8% (7-of-22) shooting in the final frame.

The Bison return home to host Wentworth Institute of Technology (3-8, 0-6 CCC) for a 5:30 PM tipoff at the Nichols Athletic Center on Wednesday, January 17^th.