Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass.- Seniors Tiffany DeRosa (Hamden, Conn.) and Jen Dabrowski (Plainville, Conn.) combined for 47 points to lead Western New England College past host Nichols College, 72-69, in TCCC women's basketball action on Thursday evening. The Bison held a 13-point lead with 15:46 left to play but the Golden Bears outscored Nichols 39-23 the rest of the way. Western New England is now 10-8 overall and breaks a 4-1 tie with the Bison in the TCCC standings. The Bison now stand at 12-6 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

Neither team took a lead of more than five before Nichols was able to open up an 11 point lead, 22-11, with 7:35 left in the first half. The Golden Bears got the lead back down to five with 2:55 left until halftime but a three by sophomore Lyndsey Bennett (North Brookfield, Mass.) gave the Bison a ten point advantage at the break, 38-28.

Nichols built up its lead to 15 early in the second but Western New England went on to tie the game at 46 all with a 13-0 drive spanning four and a half minutes. DeRosa caught fire from behind the arc as she drained two threes during the run.

The Bison countered by scoring the next seven points of the game, clinging to a 53-46 lead. It wasn't until the 1:08 mark that Western New England took its first lead of the half as turnovers plagued Nichols down the stretch. Drabrowski scored five points in the final two minutes while freshman Taryn Belowsky (New Haven, Conn.) hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds left. Needing a three for the tie, Bennett's three at the buzzer fell off the mark for the Bison.

DeRosa scored 26 points off 7-13 shooting, including 5-9 from downtown for WNEC. She also added five steals and four assists in the win. Drabrowski added 21 points, including a 7-8 performance at the line. Belowsky chipped in with 12 points as well for the Golden Bears.

Nichols committed a season-high 28 turnovers despite dominating the boards by a 42-23 margin. Freshman Jessica Nelson (North Providence, R.I.) posted her first collegiate double-double with a team-high 19 points and ten rebounds. Sophomore Curtia Humbert (Bridgeport, Conn.) added 12 points while senior Kristina Weasel (Wakefield, R.I.) had ten. Sophomore Margaret Lilly (Ashfield, Mass.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and ten rebounds.

Nichols will face Curry on the road this Saturday while Western New England College will host the University of New England on Saturday as well.