November 17, 2006

Nichols & Worcester State Advance to Worcester City Tournament Championship

(Courtesy Nichols Sports Information)

Dudley, MA- The Nichols women’s basketball team secured a spot in the 2006 Worcester City Tournament with a 60-50 victory over Clark on Friday night. The Bison will host Worcester State, a 60-51 winner over WPI earlier in the night, on Saturday at 4 p.m. Sophomore MaryLynn Skarzenski (Woodbridge, NJ) led the way for Nichols with 17 points. Freshman Jillian Camilleri (Lancaster, MA) led Clark, which had captured ten straight Worcester City titles coming into this year, with 17 points along with a game-high 17 rebounds.

The Bison quickly turned around an early six point deficit into a ten point advantage with an 18-4 run midway through the first half. Nichols built on its lead in the closing minutes of the half, going up by as many as 15, as it went into the locker room with a 32-20 lead.

In the second, Nichols steadily held a lead of ten before the Cougars were able to knock it down to five with 7:19 left. That was as close on they would get however, as two lay-ups by senior Stacey Hejwosz (Dudley, MA) and junior Katie Fondelheit (Dayville, CT) pushed the lead back up to ten, 47-38, with 4:07 remaining.

Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch put a stamp on the win for the Bison as Skarzenski connected on five of six free throws and freshman Lyndsey Bennett (North Brookfield, MA) made good on all four of her attempts.

Bennett finished with 12 points, four assists and four steals in her collegiate debut. Hejwocz added ten points and four steals. Freshman Margaret Lilly (Ashfield, MA) made her presence felt down low as she pulled down 11 rebounds in her first game in a Nichols uniform. Sophomore Brittany Case (Cambridge, NY) hauled down eight rebounds off the bench as well. Junior Kristina Weasel (Wakefield, RI) added eight points and six rebounds.

In game one of the tourney, Worcester State downed WPI 60-51. The Lancers outscored the Engineers 30-21 in the first half. Junior Lindsay DelleChiaie (Leominster, MA) led Worcester State with 15 points while senior Rachel Odugbela (Providence, RI) added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Meghan Pajonas (Bristol, CT) posted 12 points and nine rebounds for WPI.

WPI will tip-off against Clark in the consolation game of the Worcester City Tournament tomorrow at 2 p.m. followed by the championship game featuring host Nichols and Worcester State at 4 p.m.

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