WENHAM, Mass.—For the second time in three games, Gordon Women's Basketball picked up a Commonwealth Coast Conference win on its home turf, beating Nichols 60-55 on Senior Night. The Fighting Scots fended off a furious Bison rally in the fourth quarter to draw into a three-way tie in the CCC playoff picture.
 
Gordon improves to 6-18 overall and 2-15 in the CCC, while the Bison fall to 3-21 and 2-15 respectively.
 
The Bison built up an 11-5 lead after five minutes as the Scots struggled to find consistency on the offensive end of the floor. Sophomore Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.) scored six of the first 11 points for the Bison.
 
Gordon found its offensive groove by working the paint with their three post players. Kristen Smith(Littleton, Mass.), Sophie Linnell (Richmond, Va.) and Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collins, Colo.) all found the bottom of the net in a run to tie the game at 13. Jamie Tafoya (Milford, N.H.) scored the final five points of the first quarter and Gordon came roaring back to take an 18-13 lead.
 
The Scots increased their lead to as many as 11 in the second quarter, but the Bison closed things down to five points as the two teams approached the half. Two free throws by Linnell and a buzzer beater by Tafoya gave Gordon a much-needed nine-point lead at the break.
 
Gordon held a comfortable lead for much of the third period with the Bison never getting closer than five points. The Scots were able to answer Nichols' buckets on the other end of the floor and Gordon went into the final period up by six.
 
Things began to unravel a bit for the Scots with less than five minutes to go in regulation. Up by seven, Gordon allowed three quick baskets by the Bison in a 40-second span to close the gap to a single point with four minutes to go.
 
Nichols' Amy Assad (Millis, Mass.) tied the game at 52 with a made free throw with 2:35 remaining on the clock. The Bison had several chances to take a one-possession lead in the final two minutes, but Gordon never allowed them to break through the tie game.
 
Megan Jenkerson (McDonough, Ga.) hit a runner in the lane off in transition off a long rebound to put Gordon up 55-53 and Tafoya was fouled on the next possession to grow Gordon's lead to 57-53.
 
Nichols' Jessica Kelliher (Marshfield, Mass.) made a quick layup on the other end, but the Bison were forced to foul in the final seconds. Gordon made three of four in the final 20 seconds to secure the lead.
 
Both teams will search for upsets on Saturday to grab the final playoff spot in the conference. Gordon travels to Curry, while Nichols hosts Eastern Nazarene. Wentworth is also tied with the Scots and Bison for the final playoff bid.
 
For the Foes

• Kelliher led the way for the Bison with 13 points despite limited attempts.
• Packard quieted down in the second half, but still had 12 points and two steals.
• Taylor Daniels (Dudley, Mass.) had two of Nichols' four made threes and she finished with 11 points and a game-high four thefts.

 
For the Scots

• Tafoya had her best game as a Scot with 20 points and nine rebounds off the bench. The freshman also hit four free throws in the final minute of play.
• Smith finished with 14 points and a team-high two steals.
• Linnell had her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, as well as one block.

 
Quick Stats

• Gordon doubled its overall wins and conference wins marks from last season.
• The Fighting Scots have not made the CCC playoffs since 2004-05 when they went 12-5 in conference play.