Basketball Recap: Seven Straight Home Wins for Nichols

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Nichols had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They came out on top against the Sacred Heart Academy Sharks by a score of 62-52. That's the third time they've managed to beat them this season, with their most recent victory being a 50-39 win back in January.

Evelyn Walcott

Rebounds

02/27/25 vs Sacred Heart Academy	19
02/24/25 vs St. Mary's	14
02/19/25 @ Starpoint	16
02/13/25 vs Randolph	12
02/11/25 @ Aquinas Institute	12
+ 24 more games

Nichols was led to victory by Julieta Cruz and Evelyn Walcott. Cruz shot 40% from the field on her way to 22 points in addition to seven assists and seven boards, while Walcott dropped a double-double with 22 points and 19 rebounds. That's the most boards Walcott has posted since back in February of 2024. Cheyenne Barabas was another key player, putting up 12 points and five rebounds.

Nichols smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in five consecutive games.

Defeat or not, Sacred Heart Academy got some senior leadership from Anna Ratchuk and Emilee Bacon. Ratchuk went 7-for-16 en route to 21 points along with five assists and five boards, while Bacon dropped a double-double with 18 points and ten rebounds. Bacon has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more boards the last nine times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Makenna Chamberlain, who had nine points.

Nichols' win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-10. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.3 points over those games. As for Sacred Heart Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 13-14.

As of now, neither Nichols nor Sacred Heart Academy have any future games scheduled.