BRISTOL, R.I. (1/2/24) – In their first action of the new year, the Nichols College women's basketball team dropped a 93-74 Commonwealth Coast Conference decision to Roger Williams University inside the Campus Rec Center Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.

The loss is the fourth in a row for the Bison, dropping their record to 4-6 (1-2 CCC) overall on the season. The Hawks improve to 7-4 (4-0 CCC) with the win at home.

Three players scored in double figures for the Bison, led by a 25-point performance from Abriana Vazquez. Fellow senior Summer Klein chalked-up 21 points in the effort, along with a team-best six rebounds, while Adriana Romano scored 14 points with a game-high five steals. Nichols shot over 37 percent (30-of-81) from the floor, and scored 20 points off of 30 Roger Williams turnovers.

The two teams matched each other in the opening minutes, with the Hawks hanging on to a slim 8-6 lead through four minutes played. The game then shifted in favor of the host Hawks, who built a 15-6 lead on a 7-0 run, which later grew to as much as a 10-point difference with 2:30 left to play in the frame. Entering the second quarter, Roger Williams lead Nichols by a 26-15 margin.

The situation did not improve for the Bison in the second quarter, as the Hawk lead grew to 18 points at 40-22 with five minutes left in the half. It was to follow that Nichols saw their best scoring stretch of the half at 6-0 nothing thanks to three straight buckets by Vazquez, narrowing the gap down to 40-28 Hawks. Entering halftime, Nichols had pulled to within under 10 points of Roger Williams and trailed 46-37.

Roger Williams opened the second half with a quick 5-0 run, but the Bison returned fire with a sharp 11-0 run to pull to within three points of the Hawks, now only down 51-48. Then, with 3:41 remaining in the quarter, Vazquez gave the Bison their only lead of the contest at 56-55 on a three-pointer from the right corner. The score would tie up on two more occasions between the two teams, but another 5-0 run by the Hawks to close out the quarter gave the hosts the upper hand heading into the final period leading 66-61.

Nichols remained in the competition through the opening three minutes of the fourth, but eventually ran out of gas as Roger Williams pulled back ahead by 14 points on an 11-0 run. Following another pair of three-point baskets by Vazquez, Roger Williams then mounted a 12-0 run to put the score out of reach, resulting in the 93-74 setback for the Bison.

Next up, the Bison will get set for a CCC home tilt against Gordon College (1-10, 0-3 CCC) on Thursday at 5:30 PM from the Nichols Athletic Center.