WORCESTER, MASS. – Senior Katie Fondelheit (Killingly, Conn.) tallied 10 points and 12 other players scored for Nichols College to lead the Bison to a 66-46 victory over Worcester State College in the consolation game of the women’s basketball Worcester City Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Clark University on Saturday afternoon.
 

               Nichols (1-1) earned third place in the tournament, while Worcester State (0-2) finished fourth.

               In a first half that saw four ties Nichols was finally able to pull away from the Lancers late in the frame.  The Bison outscored Worcester State 19-10 in the final seven minutes of the half to take a 31-23 half-time lead.  Sophomore Alena Jasinksi (Canton, Conn.) had five points in the uprising. 

               Nichols used a 17-7 burst highlighted by consecutive baskets from Lyndsey Bennett (North Brookfield, Mass.) to gain an 18-point advantage (48-30) in the second half.  Worcester State closed the gap to within 13 (37-50) on a jumper by Lindsay DelleChiaie (Leominster, Mass.), but would get no closer.  Nichols’ Lindsey Paulsen’s (Clifton Park, N.Y.) three-pointer capped a 13-4 run to put the game away.

               Both teams shot poorly from the field, however, Nichols shot 80% (12-15) from the charity stripe and held a 49-33 advantage in rebounds in the game.

               DelleChiaie, who led Worcester State in scoring with 19 points, and Nichols’ MaryLynn Skarzenski (Hopelawn, N.J.) joined WPI’s Serena Dubois and Kaileen Selen, and Clark’s Jillian Camilleri and MVP Sarah Roderigue on the All-Tournament team.