Women’s Basketball Holds Off Bison on Senior Day

Women’s Basketball Holds Off Bison on Senior Day

MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College women's basketball team came out on top after a close Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contest with Nichols College on Saturday afternoon by a score of 59-52. After the victory, the Colonels move to 5-18 on the year while improving to 3-11 in the CCC, while the Bison sport identical marks both overall and in conference play.

The Colonels got out to a hot start, as scores by Kaitlynn Smith (Hull, Mass.) and Kathryn Dunn (Hanson, Mass.) gave them an early four-point lead. Less than three minutes later, the Bison had clawed back to grab their first lead of the day at 5-4, but it would prove to be their only advantage of the contest. Over the next four minutes, Curry jumped on a 10-3 run to move the score to 14-8. A layup by Alexis Finnerty (Chester, Conn.) broke the momentum and gave Nichols the final points of the period, but the hosts remained in control with a 14-10 advantage.

After an impressive first frame, the Colonels continued to roll in the second, this time grabbing the quarter's first six points. Finnerty looked to keep the visitors afloat, accounting for all ten of their points in the stanza. However, Curry continued to build their lead and entered halftime with a 31-20 lead after outscoring their opponents 17-10 in the second.

Entering the second half, the teams traded baskets, including a three-pointer by senior captain Alexa Galluci (North Stonington, Conn.) off an assist from Dunn. A pair of free throws by Kai. Smith brought the score to 37-24, but Finnerty converted a pair from the charity stripe to get the points right back. Over the following five minutes, the Bison put together an offensive surge which cut the lead to just six at 40-34. However, Curry closed strong and brought the score to 44-36 entering the final quarter.

Over the opening two minutes of the fourth, the Colonels stretched their lead back to 11 at 50-39. Running out of time, the visitors quickly reached the foul limit, continually sending the Colonels to the line. After shooting almost 65 percent from the line over the first three periods, the hosts took a slight step down in the fourth, going 9-for-16 (56.3%). However, despite being outscored by a point in the fourth (16-15) the Colonels did more than enough to retain their lead and earned a 59-52 CCC victory.

The Colonel offense was headed by 15 points from both Dunn and Kai. Smith. Katie Smith (East Bridgewater, Mass.) topped the team in helpers with four, while junior Gina Coote (Dedham, Mass.) grabbed a career-high 15 boards. Finnerty powered the Bison with 24 points, while Melody Millett (Naples, Maine) collected nine rebounds. Three players dished out a pair of assists each for Nichols to top the team's stat sheet.

The Colonels will stay home to host the Seahawks of Salve Regina University on Wednesday, February 19 at 5:30 p.m. in another CCC match-up. Curry will look to sweep the season series after topping Salve 52-45 on January 11. Nichols will stay on the road as they travel to face Roger Williams, also on Wednesday at 5:30. In their first contest, the Hawks topped the Bison by a score of 62-50 on January 9.

Following this afternoon's games, Curry sits in sixth in the CCC standings. The Colonels share their 3-11 conference record with both Nichols and Salve Regina, but currently control tiebreakers over both teams.

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