DUDLEY, Mass.—The Norwich University women's basketball team suffered a close 48-45 loss to the Bison of Nichols College in non-conference play on Tuesday evening, despite a game-high 21 points from junior Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.).

With the loss, the Cadets fall to 1-2 on the season, while the win boosts the Bison to 2-0.

In addition to Curry, the Cadets saw seven points and nine rebounds from senior Erin Clark (Newbury, Vt.) and six points and six rebounds by junior Kelsey Lotti (South Yarmouth, Mass.). Freshman Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) aided the team with 10 rebounds in addition to five points off the bench.

Nichols was paced by 10-point performances by Amber Litwinko and Chelsey Mahoney. Litwinko also added a team-high 10 rebounds. Devon Spirka added eight points for the Bison.

Curry scored 17 of her 21 points in the first half as Norwich held a narrow 26-24 lead at halftime. Both team struggled from the floor in the first half as Nichols was 10-for-34 (29 percent) while Norwich shot at a 33 percent clip (10-of-30). The Bison jumped out to a 15-8 lead courtesy of eight points from Mahoney – including a pair of triples. Norwich responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 15 behind five points from Curry.

After the Bison took a 22-17 lead on a Litwink free throw, the Cadets closed the half with a 9-2 run to take a 26-24 lead to the locker room. Curry scored five points in the final 55 seconds of the half, highlighted by a three-pointer with nine second on the clock. She finished the half with 17 points while Mahoney's eight led Nichols.

Litwinko opened the second half with her second field goal of the evening to even the score. Over the next 10 minutes, Nichols took the lead twice, only to see the Cadets rally to tie the score each time. With less than nine minutes remaining, senior captain Kasey Pelletier converted a layup to give the Bison a 39-37 lead. A basket by senior captain Spirka pushed the lead to four, and while Norwich cut its deficit to two on two occasions down the stretch, the Bison managed to hang on for the win.  

The Cadets held a slim 41-40 edge on the glass and scored 26 of their 45 points in the paint. Nichols received 14 points from the bench and assisted on 10 of its 21 field goals.

Norwich will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts Mount Saint Mary College in non-conference action at 2:00 p.m. in Andrews Hall. 

Courtesy of Nichols Sports Information