SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 6, 2016) - The Western New England University women's basketball team turned in an impressive all-around effort, defeating Nichols College 73-48 this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
 
Western New England shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the field, its best shooting performance since posting a 61.8 percent clip in a win over Westfield State on November 21, while holding Nichols to a 27.4 percent (17-of-62) showing. The Golden Bears outscored the Bison 36-14 in the paint and registered 24 assists on 31 made field goals en route to their fourth consecutive victory and eighth 20+ point triumph this season.
 
Senior Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) and junior Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) led Western New England with 17 points each, shooting a combined 15-for-24 from the field. Vujs, who also finished with a team-high six rebounds, three assists and two steals, needs just six points to move past Eileen Monaghan '97 into ninth place on the program's all-time scoring list.
 
Freshman Allison Mishol (Longmeadow, Mass.) came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while junior Sammie Olson (Tolland, Conn.) contributed five points, five rebounds, seven assists and two blocks, and sophomore guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) added five points, five rebounds and six assists.
 
Freshman Amy Assad (Millis, Mass.) paced the Bison with the game's only double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), while senior Jessica Kelliher (Marshfield, Mass.) and junior Taylor Daniels (Dudley, Mass.) combined for 15 points, 12 boards, five assists and three steals.
 
As they have done several times at home this season, the Golden Bears raced out to an early lead in the first quarter with hot shooting and stifling defense. Anderson, who scored 16 first-quarter points in a win over Curry on January 19, totaled 13 over the first four minutes of the game today. The swarming Western New England defense also helped cause six Nichols turnovers over the same stretch as the Golden Bears opened up a 15-0 advantage.
 
The Bison responded with an 11-2 run over the next two minutes, however, to close the gap to six (17-11) with 3:41 remaining in the opening period. Nichols, which trailed by eight (21-13) after ten minutes of play, got as close as five (21-16) on a jumper by sophomore Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.) early in the second quarter.  Mishol and Vujs took over from there, however, outscoring the Bison 15-3 over the remainder of the period as the Golden Bears were able to extend their lead to 17 (36-19) at the break.
 
Vujs scored Western New England's first six points of the third quarter, and junior Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.) found her offensive groove with a trio of baskets midway through the frame, the third of which gave the Golden Bears a 25-point cushion (53-28) at the 5:43 mark. Western New England, which led by as many as 29 (63-34) following a Mishol trey with 2:44 left in the period, would not allow its advantage to dip below 25 the rest of the way.
 
The Golden Bears (13-8, 10-4 CCC) will be looking for their fifth consecutive victory on Wednesday night at Curry, while Nichols (3-18, 2-12 CCC) heads to Newport, R.I. to take on Salve Regina.