NEW LONDON, Conn. – Senior captain Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds as the Nichols College women's basketball team rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Mitchell College 57-51 in non-conference action Thursday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Wegrzynek netted 14 of her points in the second half en route to her third double-double of the season. Freshman Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.) added a career-high 15 points off the bench in the second half while senior captain Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.) scored 11 points. Freshman Allison Cerrato (Rockland, Mass.) snared 10 rebounds in 36 minutes of action.

Jessica Shepherd (West Hartford, Conn.) led three Mariners (1-6) in double figures with 17 points and also finished with six assists, three steals and two blocks. Diamond Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) and Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn.) each contributed 14 points, and the latter grabbed 12 boards to cement her third double-double of the year.

Mitchell came out strong to start the game and built a double-digit lead over the first 10:28. Shepherd had the hot hand early and led all scorers with 13 points at the break. The Mariners led by as many as 15 in the stanza and took a 32-20 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Nichols – which shot 19 percent in the first half – used full-court pressure to jumpstart its offense in the second. The strategy paid early dividends as a 9-1 run trimmed the Mitchell lead to 37-31 with 14:45 to play, and the Bison later took their first lead of the half at 42-41 following a corner three from Packard with 9:17 to go.

The lead changed hands four times over the final 3:13 of the contest. After Garcia put the Mariners ahead by one with a jumper with 2:21 remaining, Wegrzynek put the Bison in front for good with an offensive rebound and putback and was fouled in the process. She connected on the free throw to give Nichols a 53-51 lead with 1:20 to play, and Packard followed with a key steal on the defensive end to keep the Mariners off the scoreboard.

The Bison (4-3) forced Mitchell into 14 turnovers in the second half that resulted in an 18-2 scoring advantage. Packard finished with a game-high five steals while junior Jessica Kelliher (Marshfield, Mass.) added three. Nichols bench outscored Mitchell 21-0.

Nichols returns to action on Thursday, December 18 against Virginia Wesleyan College in the first round of the St. Thomas Classic in the Virgin Islands. Mitchell hosts Johnson & Wales (RI) Sunday, January 4 at 1 p.m.