NEWPORT, R.I. – The Nichols College women's basketball team fell on the road to Salve Regina University, 68-53, on Thursday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Newport, R.I.
 
The Bison drop to 3-19 on the year and 1-14 in the CCC with the setback, while Salve Regina improves to 12-9 and 9-6 in league games. Nichols wraps up the road portion of its schedule on Saturday afternoon when the Bison travel to Western New England University for a 1:00 p.m. game.
 
Senior Allison Cerrato led the Bison with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. Junior Callie Andrews matched a career-high with 12 points to go with seven rebounds, while freshman Beth Lainghad eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Brooke Packard chipped in eight points of her own, while freshman Shannon St. Lawrence knocked down a pair of triples for six points.
 
Salve Regina sophomore Torie Scorpio scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Seahawks, with junior Kerri Beland adding 22 points and eight rebounds.
 
Allison Cerrato scored the first three points of the contest with a free throw and a jumper to give the Bison an early 3-0 lead, and a triple from Brooke Packard at the 4:06 mark knotted the game at 6-6. Another layup from Packard kept the Bison within 9-8, but the Seahawks scored the final five points of the period to take a 14-8 lead after one quarter.
 
A pair of free throws from Beth Laing opened the second stanza, but the Seahawks kept up the pressure and used a 13-0 run to grab a 27-10 advantage with 4:54 remaining. Callie Andrews sandwiched layups around a three-pointer from Beland to make it a 30-14 deficit, and a spinning layup from Laing served as the final points of the half as Nichols entered the break trailing 34-18.
 
Nichols came out firing to start the third quarter, using a 15-8 run over the first six minutes of the period to cut into the Seahawk lead and make it a 42-33 game with 4:07 remaining. Shannon St. Lawrence knocked down a pair of threes in the run, with Cerrato adding six points and Packard adding a three-pointer.
 
Salve Regina answered with a run of its own, using a 15-4 run to grab a 57-37 advantage headed into the final minute. Callie Andrews stopped the run as she bounced home her first three-pointer of the season to make it a 57-40 game after three periods.
 
The two teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter, but Nichols would only get as close as 65-51 following a layup from Beth Laing as the Seahawks pulled away for the 68-53 victory.
 
Nichols shot 33.3% (18-of-54) from the field, 45.5% (5-of-11) from beyond the arc, and 60% (12-of-20) from the charity stripe. Salve Regina knocked down 39.7% (27-of-68) of its shots, 38.5% (10-of-26) of its three-pointers, and 50% (4-of-8) of its free throws in the win. The Seahawks held a 47-35 advantage in rebounding, while committing seven turnovers compared to only eight for the Bison.
 
All-Time Series
Thursday marked the 50th meeting between the two programs and the Seahawks lead the all-time series, 37-13.