NORTON, Mass. – Maine Maritime women's basketball beat Nichols College 90-63 Saturday afternoon in a non-conference season opener at the Wheaton College Tip-Off Classic.

How it Happened: Maine Maritime began the contest with a 7-3 lead, but Nichols put together a 15-6 stretch to take an 18-13 lead with 44 seconds left in the first quarter. The Mariners then went on a 17-3 run, led by eight points from Kali Barber (Tampa, Fla.), to give Maine Maritime a 33-21 lead. The Bison were able to answer with five unanswered points to close to within 33-26, but the Mariners matched it and then some with six straight points to take their largest lead of the first half, 39-26, with 38 seconds remaining. MMA took a 40-29 advantage into the half.

Nichols was able to climb to within six points in the third quarter, but Maine Maritime kept its advantage throughout the period and led by a tally of 60-49 to end the quarter. The Mariners authored another 17-3 stretch, paced by seven more points from Barber, to effectively put the game out of reach at 77-54 with 6:24 to play in the game.

Inside the Numbers: Barber tallied a game-high 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Maria Barela (Albuquerque, N.M.) scored 16 points, shooting 6-8 from the field to go with 10 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double to go with three steals and two blocks. Sydney Echevarria-Briscoe (Englewood, N.J.) came off the bench to net 15 points and Lauren Plissey (Hermon, Maine) finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and two assists.

Summer Klein led the Bison with 18 points and 13 boards in addition to four steals, while Toni Geisel came off the bench to score 14 points and grab four rebounds to go with two steals.

Up Next: The Mariners improve to 1-0 overall, while the Bison fall to 0-1 on the year. The Mariners return to action tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., taking on University of Saint Joseph (Conn.).