DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior guard Tiffany DeRosa (Hamden, CT) is playing her best basketball of the season and that is welcome news for the Western New England College women's basketball squad.

DeRosa, a team co-captain, poured in a career high 26 points as the Golden Bears rallied for a 72-69 victory over host Nichols College Thursday night (Jan. 31) in a key The Commonwealth Coast Conference contest.

This was the second straight conference road win for WNEC who raised its record to 10-8 overall and 5-1 in TCCC.

DeRosa netted 21 of her points in the second half as WNEC battled back from a 13-point deficit with 15:46 remaining in the game. Her final point was a free throw that broke a 67-67 tie with 1:08 left. She also had five steals, four assists, and three rebounds.

DeRosa's previous season high was 17 points set last Saturday (Jan. 26) at Salve Regina and her former career best was a 22-point effort against Norwich on January 13, 2007.

Senior guard (and team co-captain) Jen Dabrowski (Plainville, CT) added 21 points, including a clutch three-pointer that gave the Golden Bears a 70-67 lead with 42 seconds remaining in the game.

Freshman guard Taryn Belowsky (New Haven, CT) contributed 12 points and made two huge free throws with eight seconds left to help preserve the victory.

Nichols had a chance to tie the game but missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.

Freshman forward Jessica Nelson (North Providence, RI) had a double-double in a reserve role for the Bison with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Sophomore guard Curtia Humbert (Bridgeport, CT) scored 12 points while sophomore center Margaret Lilly (Ashfield, MA) also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.

Nichols drops to 12-6 and 4-2 in TCCC.

The Bison held a big 42-23 edge in rebounding, but the Golden Bears' defense forced 28 turnovers.