REGIS TOPS NICHOLS TO STAY ATOP TCCC

DUDLEY, Mass. (Feb. 17) - Led by double-doubles from Sarah McNult (Hampstead, N.H.) and Jessica Page (Quincy, Mass.), the Regis College women's basketball team defeated Nichols College, 76-53, to win its third-straight conference game and remain tied atop the The Commonwealth Coast Conference standings with a 10-2 conference record and a 16-8 overall ledger. Nichols dips to 12-11 overall and 6-6 in conference action, and slides into a tie for eighth place in the standings with one game remaining on the season.

Page led the Pride with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while McNult added 14 points and 10 boards. Two other players - Meagan Tobin (Quincy, Mass.) and Caitlin Luquet (Walnut Creek, Calif.) -- eached chipped in with 11 points apiece.

Junior forward Jessica Nelson (North Providence, R.I.) led all scorers with 21 points, posting he fourth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Joining her in double-digit scoring was Ashley Robidoux (Milford, Mass.), who scored 11.

The scoring was slow to open the game, with Nichols holding a 9-5 lead on a Nelson jumper at the 13-minute mark. Nichols held on to the slim margin until the midpoint of the frame when a pair of free throws from McNult edged the visitors ahead by one, 14-13. The game stayed close in the opening frame until a 15-3 Regis run put the Pride out in front by 13 with 1:52 remaining in the stanza. A steal from Nichols' Alena Jasinski (Canton, Conn.) set up a late jumper from Nelson to cut it to 11 by halftime. Jasinski finished the night with a team-best four assists.

In the second half, however, Regis led by as many as 19 just after the midpoint  before Nichols cut it down to 11 on an 8-0 run that spanned close to three minutes. That was as close as the Bison would get, however, as the Pride started hitting from all ranges to build back up their lead.

Regis finished the night firing 40.3% overall and 40.9% from three-point range, converting 22 Bison turnovers into 24 points. The Pride held a slim advantage in points in the paint at 28-24, but it was the Bison who maintained the rebounding lead at 47-44, thanks in part to a 23-18 advantage in offensive caroms.

Nichols is back in action for its final home game of the year on Saturday, when the Bison host the University of New England for Senior Day at 1 p.m. Nichols will honor seniors Jasinski and Bennett prior to the start of the game. Regis hosts Anna Maria Saturday at 1 p.m. in its regular-season finale.