WEST HARTFORD, CONN. - The Bison of Nichols College came to the Chase Arena Wednesday evening to take on Hartford in this Conference of New England (CNE) bout. These teams met once earlier in the year, where the Hawks came out on top on the road 97-81. 

• Hartford got things going early as they shredded Nichols full-court press and went on a 11-0 run early in the first quarter. Sophomore Ella Marchesani (Saddle Brook, N.J.) found her groove early knocking home a triple and a layup as the Hawks extended their lead 17-4. The bison would notch a 4-0 run of their own but Hartford kept their foot on the gas, as sophomore Taryn Blevins (St. Louis, Mo.) hit her second jumper from behind the arch and Hartford would close the quarter with a 15-point lead (25-10).
• Hartford would continue to find success against the Bison's full-court pressure as a pair of layups from freshman Emma O'Hare (Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Lauren Sabia (Simsbury, Conn.) extended the Hawk lead 31-12. Nichols continued to try and cut into the Hartford lead, but the Hawks were able to keep them at bay with the help of back to back buckets from Sabia, and a pair of trés from Marchesani. As Hartford ended the half with the lead 44-31.
• Nichols got on the board first to start the second half knocking down a three-pointer that would spark an 11-4 run that would put them within 6 48-42. Back to back layups from freshman  Mackenzie Hohulin (Plymouth, Mass.) and freshman Maddie MacCannell (Portsmouth, N.H.) put the Hawks up 10. The Bison would go on a 9-2 run that would cut the Hartford lead to three. The Hawks would retaliate by getting to the line knocking down four straight free throws to extend the lead 58-51. The free throw battle would continue as Nichols knocked down three in a row to bring the score within four. Following a Hartford free throw from MacCannell, Isabella Lopez-Marin would hit a big three pointer to cut the lead to two, however Marchesani would knock down a triple with seven seconds to go to extend the Hawk's lead 62-57 at the end of the third.
• The fourth quarter opened up with Nichols knocking down a pair of free throws to bring the score to 62-59. However, a 8-3 Hartford scoring run would keep the Hawks ahead 70-52, spearheaded by a post move layup from freshman Maya Okoro (Frisco, Tx.). Later in the quarter,a  three pointer from Abrinna Vasquez would bring the Bison within six. Hohulin would follow this up with a three-pointer of her own and a layup coming off a press-break the following possession bringing the score to 77-68. Nichols would try to find their way back into the game, but costly turnovers and knock down free throw shooting from Hartford would seal the deal as Hartford would go on to take it 83-71.

"This was a difficult team, they trap, they are constantly moving around," said sophomore Ella Marchesani (Saddle Brook, N.J.). "We practiced hard this week, we knew we had to come today poised and play hard. This was not just a guard game, we had to get our bigs involved as well so when they were open I felt confident they are going to finish it. This win is big for us and we are going to continue to work as we move through the season."

"Nichols makes you play hard, its physical, its fast, and its not like any other team you see all season long, but I think we showed a lot of mental and physical toughness," said Head Women's Basketball Coach Polly Thomason.

• Marchesani led the scoring for the Hawks with 20 points (6-13 FG, 4-7 3PT, 4-4 FT) to go along with four rebounds, one assist, and two blocks. Lauren Sabia finished with  15 points (4-10 FG, 1-5 3P, 6-6 FT) , nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.O'Hare finished the game with 13 points (2-4 FG, 1-1 3P, 8-9 FT) to go along with five assists, and one steal. HoHulin scored 11 points (3-6 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2- FT) with seven boards, and one assist. 
• Abrianna Vasquez scored 25 points (6-18 FG, 3-8 3PT, 10-12 FT) and led all scorers, as well as one assist, and one rebound.  
• Hartford finished shooting 41.3% from the field and 40.9% 3P
• Hartford maintained their lead for the entire game. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will hit the road to face-off against Wentworth Institute of Technology Saturday February 8th at 1:00 p.m.