DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College women's basketball team nearly rallied from an 18-point deficit before falling to visiting Endicott College, 66-54, on Wednesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference action in Dudley, Mass.
 
Junior Amy Assad led the Bison with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while sophomore Jessica Larsh added 14 points, three rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Senior Allison Cerrato just missed out on her second double-double of the year with 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
Senior Brooke Packard netted five point and had two assists, while freshman Beth Laing grabbed three rebounds and her classmate Isabella Nerney had three assists in the setback.
 
Endicott sophomore Emily Pratt led the Gulls with 19 points and nine rebounds, while senior Hannah Kiernan added 16 points and five assists in the win. Sophomore Mikaela Rogers joined them in double figures with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. Seniors Gabrielle Coppola and Sam Charette chipped in seven points apiece.
 
For the game, Nichols shot 19-of-60 (31.7%) from the field, 3-of-18 (16.7%) from beyond the arc and 13-of-18 (72.2%) at the charity stripe. Endicott knocked down 27-of-60 (45%) of their attempts as well as 4-of-11 (36.4%) of their threes and 8-of-11 (72.7%) of their free throws. The Gulls held a slight 39-36 advantage in rebounds, while turnovers were even at 13 apiece.
 
After falling into an early 4-0 hole to start the game, the Bison rallied to grab their first lead of the game at 7-6 on a triple by Brooke Packard with 5:02 to play in the first. The Gulls answered with a 10-1 run before Allison Cerratoknocked down a baseline jumper before the horn to make it a 16-10 deficit after one period.
 
Nichols slowly chipped away as a jumper from Larsh pulled the Bison to 18-14 and 7:14 remaining, but the Gulls were able to build a 27-18 advantage nearly three minutes later on a jumper by sophomore Kaleigh Putnam. Amy Assad answered with a 7-2 run of her own to trim the Endicott lead to 29-25, but the Gulls scored the final three points of the period to take a 32-25 edge into the break.
 
Endicott came out firing to open the third quarter and they eventually took a 46-28 lead with 4:38 to play on a triple from Pratt. A three-point play from Cerrato followed by a triple from junior Mekaela Fithian-Giantonio cut into the Endicott lead to make it a 48-36 game, but the Gulls clung to a 50-36 advantage headed into the fourth quarter.
 
The two teams traded baskets to start the final period until an 8-0 run by the Bison capped by a knifing Assad layup inside made it a 60-53 game with 2:26 remaining. Nichols was forced to foul to try and extend the game, but the Gulls knocked down all four of their free throws while keeping the Bison off the scoreboard to pull away for the 66-54 win.
 
All-Time Series
Wednesday night marked the 27th game in the series between the two teams, and the Gulls improved to 22-5 all-time against the Bison
 
Next Games
Nichols (1-2, 0-1 CCC) – Saturday, Dec. 2 vs. Gordon, 1:00 p.m.
Endicott (3-1, 1-0 CCC) – Saturday, Dec. 2 vs. Curry, 1:00 p.m.