Perry drops 21 points in women's basketball's season opener

SPARKILL, New York - The American International College women's basketball team opened the season at Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Friday, November 12. The Yellow Jackets downed the Spartans 54-48 thanks in part to 21 points from senior Destine Perry.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: AIC 54, STAC 48
Records: AIC moves to 1-0 while STAC falls to 0-1
Location: Aquinas Hall Sparkill, New York.

KEY STATS:
AIC
Destine Perry: 21 points, six-of-six from three
Kayla Robinson: 12 points, three rebounds, five steals
Nora Young: 11 points, four rebounds, four-of-six from the field

St. Thomas Aquinas
Victoria Kurisko: 10 points, five rebounds
Angelique Holguin: eight points, five rebounds
Chanel Brouduer: six points, 10 rebounds

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Trailing 2-0 after two and a half minutes senior guard Destine Perry got the Yellow Jackets rolling with a three off the pass from classmate forward Sara Guntin Barriero.
• AIC was down five with under five minutes left in the opening stanza. While the defense held the Spartans at eight, sophomore guard Kayla Robinson nailed four free throws to make it a one-point game after 10 minutes.
• Guntion Barriero gave AIC the lead 45 seconds into the second frame with a jumper. St. Thomas Aquinas used back-to-back jumpers 40 seconds a part to take the 12-9 advantage.
• With 2:38 left in the first half junior guard Zoe Willis nailed a jumper in the paint to give the Yellow Jackets the three-point lead. Willis stole the ball on the other end and Robinson scored to make it a five-point game.
• After a Spartan free throw rookie Nora Young added a pair on a jumper to push it to seven before Robinson added a freebie to make it a seven-point lead. The home team made a three but Young hit a layup to give AIC the 30-24 lead at the break.
• Saint Thomas Aquinas rallied out of the locker room and took the 35-34 lead with just over six minutes off the clock. Young hit a three with 10 tics remaining in the third that put AIC up 37-35 with 10 minutes left to play.
• AIC kept the Spartans at arm's length throughout the final quarter by hitting four-of-six free throws in the final minute to take the game 54-48.

TAKE THE TURNOVERS

• The Yellow Jackets forced an impressive 24 turnovers in the season-opener. The last time AIC forced over 22 turnovers was against the University of New Haven on February 15, 2020.
• On the flip side the Yellow Jackets only committed 13 turnovers which is 2.9 fewer per game than they averaged in 2020-21 and 5.0 few than in the last full season of play.

UP NEXT

• The Yellow Jackets turn around and take on Mercy College on Saturday, November 13 at 1 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC women's basketball team, follow@AICWBBonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Women's BasketballonFacebook.For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram,and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook